MAMMOTH    CAYE. 


CrUrctVvok/w  ^  ^fi^^^^y 


1 


^\. 


MAMMOTH    CAVE, 


DURING  THE  YEAR  1844, 


BY   A  A  ISITER. 


LOUISVILLE,  KY. : 

MORTON    &   GRISWOLD 

1845. 


r 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1845,  by 

MORTON  &  GRISWOLD, 

in  the  Clerk's  OflBce  of  tiie  District  Court  of  Kentucky. 


Printed  by  Morton  &  Griswold. 


tA' 


PUBLISHER'S   ADVERTISEMENT. 


.<* 


tn 


To  meet  the  calls  so  freqiiently  made  upou  us  by  intelligent  visiters  to 
our  City,  for  some  work  descriptive  of  the  Mammoth  Cave,  -we  are,  at 
length,  enabled  to  present  the  public  a  succinct,  but  instructive  narrative 
of  a  visit  to  this  "Wonder  of  Wonders,"  from  the  pen  of  a  gentleman, 
who,  without  professing  to  have  explored  all  that  is  curious  or  beautiful 
or  sublime  in  its  vast  i-ecesses,  has  yet  seen  eveiy  thing  that  has  been  seen 
.^  by  others,  and  has  described  enough  to  quicken  and  enlighten  the  curiosity 
K^  of  those  who  have  never  visited  it. 

Ci       Aware  of  the  embarrassment  ^vhicll  most  persons  experience  who  de- 
— <  sign  visitmg  the  Cave,  owing  to  the  absence  of  any  printed  itinerary  of  the 
various  routes  leading  to  it,  we  have  supplied,  in  the  present  volume,  this 
desideratum,  from  information  received  from  reliable  persons  residing  on 
jr  the  different  roads  here  enumerated.     The  road  from  Louisville  to  the 
lf>  Oave,  and  thence  to  Nashville,  is  graded  the  entire  distance,  and  the  greater 
~.  part  of  it  M'Adamized.     From  Louisville  to  the  mouth  of  Salt  river,  twenty 
§  miles,  the  country  is  level,  with  a  rich  alluvial  soil,  probably  at  some  for- 
mer period  the  bed  of  a  lake.     A  few  miles  below  the  foi-mer  place  and 
extending  to  the  latter,  a  chain  of  elevated  hills  is  seen  to  the  South-East, 
C)  affording  beautiful  and  picturesque  situations  for  countiy  seats,  and  strange- 
^  ly  overlooked  by  the  rich  and  tasteful.     The  river  is  crossed  by  a  ferry, 
^  and  the  traveler  is  put  do\vii  at  a  comfortable  inn  in  the  village  of  West 
K   Point.     Two  miles  from  the  mouth  of  Salt  river,  begins  the  ascent  of  Mul- 
*"   drow's  Hill.     The  road  is  excellent,  and  having  elevated  hills  on  either 
^'   side,  is  highly  romantic  to  its  summit,  five  miles.     From  the  top  of  this  hill 
•[   to  Elizabethtown,  the  comitry  is  well  settled,  though  the  unprovements 
•A  are  generally  indifferent — the  soil  thin,  but  well  adapted  to  small-grain, 
and  oak  the  prevailing  growth.     Elizabethtown,  twenty-five  miles  from 
the  mouth  of  Salt  river,  is  quite  a  pretty  and  flourishhig  village,  built 


46^404 


VI  PUBLISHER  S    ADVERTISEMENT. 

chiefly  of  brick,  with  several  chwrches  and  three  large  inns.  From  this 
place  to  Noliu  creek,  the  distance  is  ten  miles.  Here  there  is  a  small 
town,  containing  some  ten  or  twelve  log  houses,  a  large  saw  and  grist 
mill,  and  a  comfortable  and  very  neat  inn,  kept  by  Mr.  Mosher.  Immedi- 
ately after  crossing  this  creek,  the  traveler  enters  "Yankee  Street,"  as  the 
inhabitants  style  this  section  of  the  road.  For  a  distance  of  ten  or  twelve 
miles  from  Nolin  toward  Bacon  creek,  the  land  belongs,  or  did  belong  to 
the  foi-mer  Postmaster  General,  Gideon  Granger,  and  on  either  side  of  the 
road,  to  the  extent  of  Mr.  G.'s  possessions,  arc  settlements  made  by  emi- 
grants from  New  York  and  the  New  England  States.  From  Bacon  creek 
to  Munfordsville,  eight  miles,  the  coiintry  is  jileasantly  undulating,  and 
here,  indeed  the  whole  route  from  Elizabethtowu  to  the  Cave,  passes 
through  what  was  until  i-ecently  a  Prairie,  or,  in  the  language  of  the  coun- 
try, "Barrens,"  and  renders  it  highly  interesting,  especially  to  the  botanist, 
from  the  multitude  and  variety  of  flowers  with  which  it  abounds  during 
the  Spring  and  Autumn  months.  Munfordsville,  and  Woodsonvillo  di- 
rectly opposite,  are  situated  on  Green  river,  on  high  and  broken  ground. 
They  are  small  places,  in  each  of  which,  however,  are  comfortable  inns. 
Boats  laden  ^vith  tobacco  and  other  produce,  descend  from  this  point  and 
from  a  considerable  distance  above,  to  New  Orleans.  About  two  and  a 
lialf  miles  beyond  Mumfordsville,  the  new  State  road  to  the  Cave,  (virtual- 
ly made  by  Dr.  Croghau,  at  a  great  expense,)  leaves  the  Turapike,  and 
joins  it  agam  at  the  Drijipiug  Springs,  eight  miles  below,  on  the  route  to 
Nashville.  This  road,  in  going  from  Louisville  to  Nashville,  is  not  only 
the  shortest  by  three  and  a  half  miles,  but  to  the  Cave  it  is  from  ten  to 
twelve  miles  shorter  than  the  one  taken  by  visiters  previous  to  its  con- 
struction. It  therefore  les.sens  the  inconvenience,  delay  and  consequent 
expense  to  which  travelers  were  fonnerly  subjected.  The  road  itself  is 
au  excellent  one,  the  counti-y  through  which  it  passes  highly  picturesque, 
and  Dr.  Croghan  has  entitled  himself  to  the  gratitude  of  the  traveling 
community  by  his  liberality  and  enterprise  in  constnicting  it. 

Persons  visiting  the  Cave  by  Steamei-,  (a  boat  leaves  Louisville  for 
Bowling-Grccn  every  week)  will  find  much  to  interest  them  in  the  admi- 
rable locks  and  dams,  rendering  the  navigation  of  Green  river  safe  and 
good  at  all  seasons  for  boats  of  a  large  class.  Passengers  can  obtain  con- 
veyances at  all  times  and  at  moderate  rates,  from  Bowling-Green,  by  the 
Dripping  Spruig,  to  the  Cave,  distant  twenty-two  miles.  Fifteen  miles  of 
this  road  is  M'Adamized,  the  remainder  is  graded  and  not  inferior  to  the 
finished  ponior.    The  lafl  eight  miles  from  the  Dripping  Spring  to  the 


PUBLISHERS    ADVERTISEMENT.  VU 

Cave,  cannot  fail  to  excite  the  admiration  of  every  one  ^^'ho  deliglits  in  be- 
holding wild  and  beaiitiful  scenerj'.  A  visit  to  the  Cedar  Springs  on  this 
route,  is  alone  worth  a  journey  of  many  miles.  Passengers  on  the  upper 
tnmpike,  from  Bardstowu  to  Nashville,  ran,  on  reaching  Glasgow,  at  all 
times  procure  conveyances  to  the  Cave,  cither  by  Bell's  or  by  Prewett's 
Knob. 

Arrived  at  the  Cave,  the  visitor  alights  at  a  spacious  hotel,  the  general 
arrangements,  attendance  and  cuisine  of  which,  are  adapted  to  the  most 
fastidious  taste.  He  feels  that  as  far  as  the  "creature  comforts"  are  neces- 
sary to  enjojaneut,  the  prospect  is  full  of  promise ;  nor  will  he  be  disap- 
pointed. And  now,  this  first  and  most  important  preliminary  to  a  ti'aveler 
settled  to  liis  perfect  content,  he  may  remain  for  weeks  and  experience 
daily  gratification,  "Stephen  his  guide,"  in  wandering  through  some  of  its 
two  hundred  and  twenty-six  avenues — in  gazing,  until  he  is  oppressed 
■with  the  feeling  of  their  magnificence,  at  some  of  its  forty-.seveu  domes, — 
in  listening,  until  their  drowsy  murmurs  pain  the  sense,  to  some  of  its  ma- 
ny v^^ater-falls, — or  haply  intent  upon  discovery^,  he  hails  some  new  vista, 
or  fretted  roof,  or  secret  river,  or  unsounded  lake,  or  crystal  fountain,  ^vith 
as  much  rapture  as  Balboa,  from  "  that  peak  in  Darien,"  gazed  on  the  Pa- 
cific ;  he  is  assured  that  he  "has  a  poet,"  and  an  historian  too.  Stephen  has 
linked  his  name  to  dome,  or  avenue,  or  river,  and  it  is  already  immortal 
— in  the  Cave. 

Independent  of  the  attractions  to  be  found  in  the  Cave,  there  is  much 
above  ground  to  gratify  the  different  tastes  of  visiters.  There  is  a  capa- 
cious ball-room,  ninety  feet  by  thirty,  with  a  fine  band  of  music, — a  ten-pin 
alley, — romantic  >valks  and  caniage-drives  in  all  directions,  rendered  easy 
of  access  by  the  fine  road  recently  finished.  The  many  rare  and  beautiful 
flowers  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Cave,  invite  to  exerci.se,  and  bou- 
quets as  exquisite  as  v/ere  ever  culled  in  garden  or  green-house,  may  be 
obtained  even  as  late  as  August.  The  fine  sport  the  neighborhood  affords 
to  the  hunter  and  the  angler — Green  river,  just  at  hand,  oiTers  such  "store 
of  fish,"  as  father  "W^alton  or  his  son  and  disciple  Cotton,  were  they  alive 
again,  would  love  to  meditate  and  angle  in  ! — and  the  woods  !  Capt.  Scott 
or  Christopher  North  himself,  might  grow  weary  of  the  sight  of  game, 
winged  or  quadruped.  C. 


INTERESTING  FACTS. 


1.  Accidents  of  no  kind  have  ever  occurred  in 
the  Mammoth  Cave. 

2.  Visiters,  going  in  or  coming  out  of  the 
Cave,  are  not  hable  to  cqjitract  colds ;  on  the 
contrary,  colds  are  commonly  relieved  by  a  visit 
in  the  Cave. 

3.  No  impure  air  exists  in  any  part  of  the 
Cave. 

4.  Reptiles,  of  no  description,  have  ever  been 
seen  in  the  Cave  ;  on  the  contrary,  they,  as  vsi^ell 
as  quadrupeds,  avoid  it. 

5.  Combustion  is  perfect  in  all  parts  of  the 
Cave. 

6.  Decomposition  and  consequent  putrefac- 
tion are  unobservable  in  all  parts  of  the  Cave. 

7.  The  water  of  the  Cave  is  of  the  purest 
kind ;  and,  besides  fresh  water,  there  are  one  or 
two  sulphur  springs. 


IxNTERESTING    FACTS.  IX 

8.  There  are  two  hundred  and  twenty-six 
Avenues  m  the  Cave;  forty-seven  Domes; 
eight  Cataracts,  and  twenty-three  Pits, 

9.  The  temperature  of  the  Cave  is  59*^  Fah- 
renheit, and  remains  so,  uniformly,  winter  and 
summer. 

10.  No  sound,  not  even  the  loudest  peal  of 
thunder,  is  heard  one  quarter  of  a  mile  in  the 
Cave. 


The  author  of  "  Rambles  in  the  Mammoth 
Cave, "  has  written  a  scientific  account  of  the 
Cave,  embracing  its  Geology,  Mineralogy,  etc., 
which  we  could  not,  in  time,  insert  in  this  pub- 
lication. 


TABLE  OF  DISTANCES. 


FROM  LOUISVILLE  TO 
MAMMOTH  CAVE. 

Medley's 10  miles. 

Mouth  Salt  River 10 

Trueman'.s 8 

Haycraft's 7 

Elizabethtown 9 

Nolin 9 

Lucas 11 

Mmifordsville 10 

Mammoth  Cave 14i 


88i  miles 


FROM  LEXINGTON  TO 
MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

Harrodsburgh HO  miles. 

Pen-yville 10 

Frosts 12 

Young 4 

Lebanon 7 

New  Market 12 

Barbee 0 

Somerville 3 

Carters .5 

Moss .5 

Mitchell 12 

Curls 7 

Greens 10 

Dickeys 8 

Mammoth  Cave 9 


130  miles 


FROM  GLASGOW  TO 
MAMMOTH    CAVE,    via. 

Dickeys 18  mile 


FROM  NASHVILLE  TO 
MAMMOTH   CAVE. 

Gees 9  miles. 

Tyree  Springs 13 

Buutons 12 

Franklin 10 

Bowling  Green 20 

Pattersons 12 

Dripping  Springs 3 

Mammoth  Cave 8 


87  miles. 


FROM    BARDSTOWN  TO 
MAMMOTH  CAVE. 

New  Haven 1.5  miles- 

McDougals 10 

McAchran  (Cobb's  stand)  12 

Bear  Wallow 20 

Dickeys  (Prewett's  Knob)    7 
Mammoth  Cave 9 


73  miles. 


FROM    BARDSTOWN  TO 
MAMMOTH  CAVE,  via. 
MUNFORDSVILLE. 
McAchran  (Cobb's  stand)  37  miles. 

Mmifordsville 12 

Mammoth  Cave 1 4  J 


63  J  miles 


FROM  GLASGOW  TO 
MAMMOTH    CAVE,    via. 
Bells 18  miles- 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 


Mammoth  Cave — Whei'e  Situated — Green  River — Improved  Navigation — 
Range  of  Highlands — Beautiful  Woodlands — Hotel — Romantic  Dell — 
Mouth  of  the  Cave — Coldness  of  the  Air — Lamps  Lighted — Bones  of  a 
Giant — Violence  of  the  Wind — Lamps  Extinguished — Temperature  of 
the  Cave — Lamps  Rehghted — First  Hopper — Grand  Vestibule — Glow- 
ing Description — Audubon  Avenue — Little  Bat  Room — Pit  tv^'O  hun- 
dred and  eighty  feet  deep — Main  Cave — Kentucky  Cliffs — The  Church 
Second  Hopper — Extent  of  the  Saltpetre  Manufacture  in  1814. 

CHAPTER  IL 

Gothic  Gallery — Gothic  Avenue — Good  Road — Mummies — Interesting 
Account  of  Them — Gothic  Avenue,  once  called  Haimted  Chamber — 
Why  so  named — Adventure  of  a  Miner  in  former  days. 

CHAPTER  IIL 

Stalagmite  Pillars — The  Bell — Vulcan's  Furnace — Register  Rooms — Stal- 
agmite Hall  or  Gothic  Chapel — Devil's  Ann-Chaii- — Elephant's  Head — 
Lover's  Leap — Napoleon's  Dome — Salts  Cave — Annelti's  Dome. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  BallRoom— Willie's  Spring— Wandering  Willie— Ox-Stalls— Gi- 
ant's Coffin — Acute- Angle  or  Great  Bend — Range  of  Cabins — Curative 
Properties  of  the  Cave  Air  long  knov^'n. 

CHAPTER  V. 
Star  Chamber — Salts  Room — Indian  Houses — Cross  Rooms — Black  Cham- 
bers— A  Dinner  Partj^ — Humble  Chute — Solitary  Cave — Fairy  Grotto — 
Chief  City  or  Temple — Lee's  Description — Return  to  the  Hotel. 


XU  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


Arrival  of  a  lai"ge  Party — Second  Visit — Lamps  Extinguished — Laugh- 
able Confusion — Wooden  Bowl — Deserted  Chambers — Richardson's 
Spruig — Side-Saddle  Pit — The  Labyrinth — Louisa's  Dome — Gorin's 
Dome — Bottomless  Pit — Separation  of  our  Party. 

CHAPTER  VIL 

Pensico  Avenue — Great  Crossings — Pine  Apple  Bush — Angelica's  Grotto 
Winding  Way — Fat  Friend  in  Trouble — Relief  Hall — Bacon  Chamber 
Bandits  Hall. 

CHAPTER  Vin. 

Mammoth  Dome — First  Discoverers — Little  Dave — Tale  of  a  Lamp — Re- 
turn. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Third  Visit — River  Hall — Dead  Sea — River  Styx — Lethe — Echo  River — 
Purgatory — Eyeless  Fish — Supposed  Level  of  the  Rivers — Sources 
and  Outlet  Unknow^n. 

CHAPTER  X. 

Pass  of  El  Ghor — Silliman's  Avenue — Wellington's  Gallery — Sulphur 
Spring — Mary's  Vineyard — Holy  Sepulchre-7-Commencement  of  Cleve- 
land Avenue — Bywhom  Discovered — Beautiful  Fonnations— Snow-ball 
Room — Rocky  Mountains — Croghan's  Hall — Serena's  Arbor — Dining 
Table — Dinner  Party  and  Toast — Hoax  of  the  Guide — Homeward 
Bound  Passage — Conclusion. 


#/ 


MAMMOTH  CAVE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Mammoth  Cave — Where  Situated — Green  River — Improved  Navigation 
Range  of  Highlands — Beautiful  ^Voodlands — Hotel — Romantic  Dell — 
Mouth  of  the  Cave — Coldness  of  the  Air — Lamps  Lighted — Bones  of  a 
Giant — Violence  of  the  Wind — Lamps  Extinguished — Temperature  of 
the  Cave — Lamps  Lighted — Fii-st  Hoppers — Grand  Vestibule — Glow- 
ing Description — Audubon  Avenue — Little  Bat  Room — Pit  T\vo-Hun- 
dred  and  Eighty  Feet  Deep — Main  Cave — Kentucky  Cliffs — The  Chui-ch 
— Second  Hoppers — Extent  of  the  Saltpetre  Manufacture  in  1814. 

The  Mammoth  Cave  is  situated  in  the  Coun- 
ty of  Edmondson  and  State  of  Kentucky,  equi- 
distant from  the  cities  of  Louisville  and  Nash- 
ville, (about  ninety  miles  from  each,)  and  im- 
mediately upon  the  nearest  road  between  those 
two  places.  Green  River  is  within  half  a  mile 
of  the  Cave,  and  since  the  improvements  in  its 
navigation,  by  the  construction  of  locks  and 
dams,  steam-boats  can,  at  all  seasons,  ascend  to 
Bowling  Green,  distant  but  twenty-two  miles, 
1 


.10  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

and,  for  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  to  the  Cave 
itseh'. 

In  going  to  the  Cave  from  Munfordsville,  you 
will  observe  a  lofty  range  of  barren  highlands  to 
the  North,  which  approaches  nearer  and  nearer 
the  Cave  as  yon  advance,  until  it  reaches  to 
within  a  mile  of  it.  This  range  of  highlands 
or  cliffs,  composed  of  calcareous  rock,  pursuing 
its  rectilinear  course,  is  seen  the  greater  part  of 
the  way  as  you  proceed  on  towards  Bowhng 
Green ;  and,  at  last,  looses  itself  in  the  counties 
below.  Under  this  extensive  range  of  cliffs  it  is 
conjectured  that  the  great  subterranean  territory 
mainly  extends  itself 

For  a  distance  of  two  miles  from  the  Cave,  as 
you  approach  it  fi'om  the  South-East,  the  coun- 
try is  level.  It  was,  until  recently,  a  prairie,  on 
which,  however,  the  oak,  chestnut  and  hickory 
are  now  growing;  and  having  no  underbrush, 
its  smooth,  verdant  openings  present,  here  and 
there,  no  unapt  resemblance  to  the  parks  of  the 
English  no})ility. 

Emerging  from  these  beautiful  woodlands,  you 
suddenly  have  a  view  of  the  hotel  and  adjacent 
grounds,  which  is  truly  lovely  and  picturesque. 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  11 

The  hotel  is  a  large  edifice,  two  hundred  feet 
long  by  forty-five  wide,  w  ith  piazzas,  sixteen  feet 
wide,  extending  the  whole  length  of  the  build- 
ing, both  above  and  below,  well  ftirnished,  and 
kept  in  a  style,  by  Mr.  Miller,  that  cannot  fail 
to  please  the  most  fastidious  epicure. 

The  Cave  is  about  two-hundred  yards  from 
the  hotel,  and  you  proceed  to  it  down  a  lovely 
and  romantic  dell,  rendered  umbrageous  by  a 
forest  of  trees  and  grape  vines  ;  and  passing  by 
the  ruins  of  saltpetre  furnaces  and  large  mounds 
of  ashes,  you  turn  abruptly  to  the  right  and  be- 
hold the  mouth  of  the  great  cavern  and  as  sud- 
denlv  feel  the  coldness  of  its  air. 

It  is  an  appalUng  spectacle, — how  dark,  how 
dismal,  how  dreary.  Descending  some  thirty 
feet  down  rather  rude  steps  of  stone,  you  are 
fairly  under  the  arch  of  this  "  nether  world  " — 
before  you,  in  looking  outwards,  is  seen  a  small 
stream  of  water  falling  fi'om  the  face  of  the 
crowning  rock,  with  a  wild  faltering  sound,  upon 
the  ruins  below,  and  disappearing  in  a  deep  pit, 
— behind  you,  all  is  gloom  and  darkness ! 

Let  us  now  follow  the  guide  —  who,  placing 
on  his  back  a  canteen  of  oil,  lights  the  lamps, 


12  MAMMOTH    CAVE- 

and  giving  one  to  each  person,  we  commence 
our  subterranean  journey ;  having  determined  to 
confine  oursehes,  for  this  day,  to  an  examina- 
tion of  some  of  the  avenues  on  tliis  side  of  the 
rivers,  and  to  resume,  on  a  future  occasion,  our 
visit  to  the  fairy  scenes  beyond.  I  emphasize 
the  word  some  of  the  avenues,  because  no  visiter 
has  ever  yet  seen  one  in  twenty  ;  and,  ahhough 
I  shall  attempt  to  describe  only  a  few  of  them, 
and  in  so  doing  will  endeavor  to  represent  things 
as  I  saw  them,  and  as  they  impressed  me,  I  am 
not  the  less  apprehensive  that  my  descriptions 
will  appear  as  unbounded  exaggerations,  so  won- 
derfully vast  is  the  Cave,  so  singular  its  forma- 
tions, and  so  unique  its  characteristics. 

At  the  place  where  our  lamps  were  lighted, 
are  to  be  seen  the  wooden  pipes  which  conduct- 
ed the  water,  as  it  fell  from  the  ceiling,  to  the 
vats  or  saltpetre  hoppers ;  and  near  this  spot  too, 
are  interred  the  bones  of  a  giant,  of  such  vast 
size  is  the  skeleton,  at  least  of  such  portions  of 
it  as  remain.  With  regard  to  this  giant,  or 
more  properly  skeleton,  it  may  be  well  to  state, 
that  it  was  found  by  the  saltpetre  workers  far 
w  ithni  the  Cave  years  ago,  and  was  buried  by 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  13 

their  employer  where  it  now  hes,  to  quiet  their 
superstitious  fears,  not  however  before  it  was  be- 
reft of  its  head  by  some  fearless  antiquary. 

Proceeding  onward  about  one-hundred  feet, 
we  reached  a  door,  set  in  a  rough  stone  wall, 
stretched  across  and  completely  blocking  up  the 
Cave;  which  was  no  sooner  opened,  than  our 
lamps  were  extinguished  by  the  violence  of  the 
wind  rushing  outwards.  An  accurate  estimate 
of  the  external  temperature,  may  at  any  time, 
be  made,  by  noting  the  force  of  the  wind  as  it 
blows  inward  or  outward.  When  it  is  very 
warm  without,  the  wind  blows  outwards  with 
violence ;  but  when  cold,  it  blows  inwards  with 
proportionate  force.  The  temperature  of  the 
Cave,  (winter  and  summer,)  is  invariably  the 
same  —  59^^  Fahrenheit;  and  its  atmosphere  is 
perfectly  uniform,  dry,  and  of  most  extraordinary 
salubrity. 

Our  lamps  being  relighted,  we  soon  reached  a 
narrow  passage  faced  on  the  left  side  by  a  wall, 
built  by  the  miners  to  confine  the  loose  stone 
thrown  up  in  the  course  of  their  operations, 
when  gradually  descending  a  short  distance,  we 
5* 


14  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

entered  the  great  vestibule  or  ante-chamber  of 
the  Cave.  "  What  do  we  now  see  ?  Midnight ! 
—  the  blackness  of  darkness ! — Nothing !  Where 
is  the  wall  we  were  lately  elbowing  out  of  the 
way?  It  has  vanished!  — It  is  lost!  We  are 
walled  in  by  darkness,  and  darkness  canopies  us 
above.  Look  again ; —  Swing  your  torches  aloft ! 
Aye,  now  you  can  see  it ;  far  up,  a  hundred  feet 
above  your  head,  a  grey  ceiling  rolhng  dimly 
away  like  a  cloud,  and  heavy  buttresses,  bending 
under  the  weight,  curling  and  toppling  over  their 
base,  begin  to  project  their  enormous  masses 
from  the  shadowy  wall.  How  vast !  How  sol- 
emn !  How  awful !  The  little  bells  of  the  brain 
are  ringing  in  your  ears ;  you  hear  nothing  else 
— not  even  a  sigh  of  air — not  even  the  echo  of 
a  drop  of  water  falling  from  the  roof.  The 
guide  triumphs  in  your  look  of  amazement  and 
awe ;  he  falls  to  work  on  certain  old  wooden 
ruins,  to  you,  yet  invisible,  and  builds  a  brace  or 
two  of  fires,  by  the  aid  of  which  you  begin  to 
have  a  better  conception  of  the  scene  around 
you.  You  are  in  the  vestibule  or  ante-chamber, 
to  which  the  spacious  entrance  of  the  Cave,  and 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  15 

the  narrow  passage  that  succeeds  it,  should  be 
considered  the  mere  gate-way  and  covered  ap- 
proach. It  is  a  basihca  of  an  oval  figure — two- 
hundred  feet  in  length  by  one-hundred  and  fifty 
wide,  with  a  roof  which  is  as  flat  and  level  as 
if  finished  by  the  trowel  of  the  plasterer,  of  fifty 
or  sixty  or  even  more  feet  in  height.  Two 
passages,  each  a  hundred  feet  in  width,  open 
into  it  at  its  opposite  extremities,  but  at  right 
angles  to  each  other;  and  as  they  preserve  a 
straight  course  for  five  or  six-hundred  feet,  with 
the  same  flat  roof  connnon  to  each,  the  ap- 
pearance to  the  eye,  is  that  of  a  vast  hall  in  the 
shape  of  the  letter  L  expanded  at  the  angle,  both 
branches  being  five-hundred  feet  long  by  one- 
hundred  wide.  The  passage  to  the  right  hand 
is  the  "  Great  Bat  Room ; "  (Audubon  Avenue.) 
That  in  the  front,  the  beginning  of  the  Grand 
Gallery,  or  the  Main  Cavern  itself  The  whole 
of  this  prodigious  space  is  covered  by  a  single 
rock,  in  which  the  eye  can  detect  no  break  or 
interruption,  save  at  its  borders,  where  is  a  broad, 
sweeping  cornice,  traced  in  horizontal  panel- 
work,  exceedingly  noble  and  regular;  and  not  a 
single  pier  or  pillar  of  any  kind  contributes  to 


16  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

support  it.  It  needs  no  support.  It  is  like  the 
arched  and  ponderous  roof  of  the  poet's  mauso- 
leum : 

"  By  its  own  weight  made  stedfast  aud  immoveable." 

The  floor  is  very  irregularly  broken,  consisting 
of  vast  heaps  of  the  nitrous  earth,  and  of  the 
ruins  of  the  hoppers  or  vats,  composed  of  heavy 
planking,  in  which  the  miners  were  accustomed 
to  leach  it.  The  hall  was,  in  fact,  one  of  their 
chief  factory  rooms.  Before  their  day,  it  was  a 
cemetery ;  and  here  they  disinterred  many  a 
mouldering  skeleton,  belonging  it  seems,  to  that 
gigantic  eight  or  nine  feet  race  of  men  of  past 
days,  whose  jaw-bones  so  many  vivacious  per- 
sons have  clapped  over  their  own,  like  horse- 
collars,  without  laying  by  a  single  one  to  con- 
vince the  soul  of  scepticism. 

Such  is  the  vestibule  of  the  Mammoth  Cave, 
—  a  hall  which  hundreds  of  visitors  have  passed 
through  without  being  conscious  sf  its  existence. 
The  path,  leading  into  the  Grand  Gallery,  hugs 
the  wall  on  the  left  hand ;  and  is,  besides,  in  a 
hollow,  flanked  on  the  right  hand  by  lofty 
mounds  of  earth,  which  the  visitor,  if  he  looks  at 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  17 

them  at  all,  which  he  will  scarcely  do,  at  so 
early  a  period  after  entering,  will  readily  suppose 
to  be  the  opposite  walls.  Those  who  enter  the 
Great  Bat  Room,  (xA.udnbon  Avenue,)  into 
which  flying  visitors  are  seldom  conducted,  will 
indeed  have  some  faint  suspicion,  for  a  moment, 
that  they  are  passing  through  infinite  space  ;  but 
the  walls  of  the  Cave  being  so  dark  as  to  reflect 
not  one  single  ray  of  light  from  the  dim  torches, 
and  a  greater  number  of  them  being  necessary  to 
disperse  the  gloom  than  are  usually  employed, 
they  will  still  remain  in  ignorance  of  the  grand- 
eur around  them." 

Such  is  the  vestibule  of  the  Mammoth  Cave, 
as  described  by  the  ingenious  author  of  "Cala- 
var,"  "Peter  Pilgrim,"  &c. 

From  the  vestibule  we  entered  Audubon  Ave- 
nue, which  is  more  than  a  mile  long,  fifty  or  sixty 
feet  wide  and  as  many  high.  The  roof  or  ceil- 
ing exhibits,  as  you  walk  along,  the  appearance 
of  floating  clouds — and  such  is  observable  in 
many  other  parts  of  the  Cave.  Near  the  termin- 
ation of  this  avenue,  a  natural  well,  twenty-five 
feet  deep,  and  containing  the  purest  water,  has 
been   recently  discovered ;  it  is  surrounded  by 


18  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

Stalagmite  columns,  extending  from  the  floor  to 
the  roof,  upon  the  incrustations  of  which,  when 
hghts  are  suspended,  the  reflection  from  the 
water  below  and  the  various  objects  above  and 
around,  gives  to  the  whole  scene  an  appearance 
equally  rare  and  picturesque.  This  spot,  how- 
ever, being  diflicult  of  access,  is  but  seldom  vis- 
ited. 

The  Little  Bat  Room  Cave — a  branch  of 
Audubon  Avenue, — is  on  the  left  as  you  ad- 
vance, and  not  more  than  three-hundred  yards 
from  the  great  vestibule.  It  is  but  little  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  length,  and  is  remark- 
able for  its  pit  of  two-hundred  and  eighty  feet  in 
depth ;  and  as  being  the  hibernal  resort  of  bats. 
Tens  of  thousands  of  them  are  seen  hanging 
from  the  walls,  in  apparently  a  torpid  state,  during 
the  winter,  but  no  sooner  does  the  spring  open, 
than  they  disappear. 

Returning  from  the  Little  Bat  Room  and  Au- 
dubon Avenue,  we  pass  again  through  the  vesti- 
bule, and  enter  the  Main  Cave  or  Grand  Gallery. 
This  is  a  vast  tunnel  extending  for  miles,  avera- 
ging throughout,  fifty  feet  in  width  by  as  many 
in  height.     It  is  truly  a  noble  subterranean  ave- 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  19 

line  ;  the  largest  of  which  man  has  any  knowl- 
edge, and  replete  with  interest,  from  its  varied 
characteristics  and  majestic  grandeur. 

Proceeding  down  the  mam  Cave  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile,  we  came  to  the  Kentucky 
Cliffs,  so  called  from  the  fancied  resemblance  to 
the  cliffs  on  the  Kentucky  River,  and  descend- 
ing gradually  about  twenty  feet  entered  the 
church,  when  our  guide  was  discovered  in  the 
pulpit  fifteen  feet  above  us,  having  reached  there 
by  a  gallery  which  leads  from  the  cliffs.  The 
ceiling  here  is  sixty  three  feet  high,  and  the 
church  itself,  including  the  recess,  cannot  be 
less  than  one  hundred  feet  in  diameter.  Eight 
or  ten  feet  above  and  immediately  behind  the  pul- 
pit, is  the  organ  loft,  which  is  sufficiently  capa- 
cious for  an  organ  and  choir  of  the  largest  size. 
There  would  appear  to  be  something  like  de- 
sign in  all  this; — here  is  a  church  large  enough 
to  accomodate  thousands,  a  solid  projection  of 
the  wall  of  the  Cave  to  serve  as  a  pulpit,  and 
a  few  feet  back  a  place  for  an  organ  and  choir. 
In  this  great  temple  of  nature,  religious  service 
has  been  fi-equently  held,  and  it  requires  but  a 
.slight  effort  on  the  part  of  a  speaker,  to  make  him- 
self, distinctly  heard  by  the  largest  congregation. 


20  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

Sometimes  the  guides  climb  up  the  high  and 
ragged  sides,  and  suspend  lamps  in  the  crevices 
and  on  the  projections  of  the  rock,  thus  lighting 
up  a  scene  of  wild  grandeur  and  sublimity. 

Concerts  too  have  been  held  here,  and  the 
melody  of  song  has  been  heard,  such  as  would 
dehght  the  ear  of  a  Catalini  or  a  Malibran. 

Leaving  the  church  you  will  observe,  on  as- 
cending, a  large  embankment  of  lixiviated  earth 
thrown  out  by  the  miners  more  than  thirty  years 
ago,  the  print  of  wagon  wheels  and  the  tracks 
of  oxen,  as  distinctly  defined  as  though  they 
were  made  but  yesterday ;  and  continuing  on  for 
a  short  distance,  you  arrive  at  the  Second  Hop- 
pers. Here  are  seen  the  ruins  of  the  old  nitre 
works,  leaching  vats,  pump  fi-ames  and  two  lines 
of  wooden  pipes ;  one  to  lead  fresh  water  from 
the  dripping  spring  to  the  vats  filled  with  the 
nitrous  earth,  and  the  other  to  convey  the  lye 
drawn  from  the  large  reservoir,  back  to  the  fur- 
nace at  the  mouth  of  the  Cave. 

The  quantity  of  nitrous  earth  contained  in  the 
Cave  is  "  sufficient  to  supply  the  whole  popula- 
tion of  the  globe  with  saltpetre." 

"  The  dirt  gives  from  three  to  five  pounds  of 
nitrate  of  lime  to  the  bushel,  requiring  a  large 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  21 

proportion  of  fixed  alkali  to  produce  the  required 
rrystalization,  and  when  left  in  the  Cave  be- 
come re-impregnated  in  three  years.  When  salt- 
petre bore  a  high  price,  immense  quantities  were 
manufactured  at  the  Mammoth  Cave,  but  the  re- 
turn of  peace  brought  the  saltpetre  fi-om  the  East 
Indies  in  competition  with  the  American,  and 
drove  that  of  the  produce  of  our  country  entirely 
from  the  market.  An  idea  may  be  formed  of 
the  extent  of  the  manufacture  of  saltpetre  at  this 
Cave,  from  the  fact  that  the  contract  for  the 
supply  of  the  fixed  alkali  alone  for  the  Cave,  for 
the  year  1814,  was  twenty  thousand  dollars." 

"  The  price  of  the  article  was  so  high,  and  the 
profits  of  the  manufacturer  so  great,  as  to  set  half 
the  western  world  gadding  after  nitre  caves — 
the  gold  mines  of  the  day.  Cave  hunting  in 
fact  became  a  kmd  of  mania,  beginning  with 
speculators,  and  ending  wdth  hair  brained  young 
men,  who  dared  for  the  love  of  adventure  the 
risk  which  others  ran  for  profit."  Every  hole, 
remarked  an  old  miner,  the  size  of  a  man's  body, 
has  been  penetrated  for  miles  around  the  Mam- 
moth Cave,  but  although  we  found  ''pet re  earth!' 
we  never  could  find  a  cave  worth  having. 


CHAPTER  11. 

Gothic  Gallery — Gotliic  Avenue — Good  Road — Mammies — Interesting 
Account  of  Them — Gothic  Avenue  once  called  Haunted  Chamber — 
Why  so  Named — Adventure  of  a  Mmer  m  Former  Days. 

In  looking  from  the  niins  of  the  nitre  works,  to 
the  left  and  some  thirty  feet  above,  you  will  see  a 
large  cave,  connected  with  which  is  a  narrow  gal- 
lery sweeping  across  the  Main  Cave  and  losing 
itself  m  a  cave,  which  is  seen  above  to  your  right. 
This  latter  cave  is  the  Gothic  Avenue,  which  no 
doubt  was  at  one  time  connected  with  the  cave 
opposite  and  on  the  same  level,  forming  a  com- 
plete bridge  over  the  main  avenue,  but  afterwards 
broken  down  and  separated  by  some  great  con- 
vulsion. 

The  cave  on  the  left,  which  is  filled  with  sand, 
has  been  penetrated  but  a  short  distance ;  still 
from  its  great  size  at  its  entrance,  it  is  more  than 
probable,  that,  were  all  obstructions  removed,  it 
might  be  found  to  extend  for  miles. 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  23 

While  examining  the  old  saltpetre  works,  the 
guide  left  us  without  our  being  aware  of  it,  but 
casting  our  eyes  around  we  perceived  him  stand- 
ing some  forty  feet  above,  on  the  projection  of  a 
huge  rock,  or  tower,  which  commands  a  view  of 
the  gi-and  gallery  to  a  great  extent  both  up  and 
down. 

Leaving  the  Main  Cave  and  ascending  a  flight 
of  stairs  twenty  or  thirty  feet,  we  entered  the 
Gothic  Avenue,  so  named  from  the  Gothic  ap- 
pearance of  some  of  its  compartments.  This  av- 
enue is  about  forty  feet  wide,  fifteen  feet  high  and 
two  miles  long.  The  ceiling  looks  in  many  places 
as  smooth  and  white  as  though  it  had  been  under 
the  trowel  of  the  most  skilful  plasterer,  A  good 
road  has  been  made  throughout  this  cave,  and 
such  is  the  temperature  and  purity  of  its  atmos- 
phere, that  every  visitor  must  experience  their  sal- 
utary influences. 

In  a  recess  on  the  left  hand  elevated  a  few 
feet  above  the  floor  and  about  fifty  feet  from  the 
head  of  the  stairs  leading  up  from  the  Main  Av- 
enue, two  mummies  long  since  taken  away,  were 
to  be  seen  in  1813.  They  were  in  good  pres- 
ervation; one  was  a  female  with  her  extensive 


24  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

wardrobe  placed  before  her.  The  removal  of 
those  mummies  from  the  place  in  which  they 
were  found  can  be  viewed  as  little  less  than 
sacrilege.  There  they  had  been,  perhaps  for 
centuries,  and  there  they  ought  to  have  been  left. 
What  has  become  of  them  I  know  not.  One  of 
them,  it  is  said,  was  lost  in  the  burning  of  the 
Cincmnati  museum.  The  wardrobe  of  the  fe- 
male was  given  to  a  Mr.  Ward,  of  Massachusetts, 
who  I  beheve  presented  it  to  the  British  ]\Iu- 
seum. 

Two  of  the  miners  found  a  mummy  in  Au- 
dubon Avenue,  in  1814.  With  a  view  to  con- 
ceal it  for  a  time,  they  placed  large  stones  over 
it,  and  marked  the  walls  about  the  spot  so  that 
they  might  fnid  it  at  some  future  period;  this 
however,  they  were  never  able  to  effect.  In 
1840,  the  present  hotel  keeper  Mr.  Miller,  learn- 
ing the  above  facts,  went  in  search  of  the  place 
designated,  taking  with  him  very  many  lights, 
and  found  the  marks  on  the  walls,  and  near  to 
them  the  munnny.  It  was,  however,  so  much 
injured  and  broken  to  pieces  by  the  heavy 
weights  which  had  been  placed  upon  it,  as  to  be 
of  little  interest  or  value.     I  have  no  doubt,  that 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  25 

if  proper  eftbrts  were  made,  mummies  and  other 
objects  of  curiosity  might  be  found,  which  would 
tend  to  throw  hght  on  tlie  early  history  of  the 
first  inhabitants  of  this  continent. 

Believing,  that  whatever  [may  relate  to  these 
mummies  cannot  fail  to  mterest,  I  will  extract 
from  the  recently  published  narrative  of  a  high- 
ly scientific  gentleman  of  New  York,  himself  one 
of  the  early  visitors  to  the  Cave. 

"  On  my  first  visit  to  the  ]\Iammoth  Cave  ui 
1813,  I  saw  a  relic  of  ancient  times,  which  re- 
quires a  minute  description.  This  description 
is  from  a  memorandum  made  in  the  Cave  at 
the  time. 

In  the  digging  of  saltpetre  earth,  in  the  short 
cave,  a  flat  rock  was  met  with  by  the  workmen,  a 
little  below  the  surface  of  the  earth  in  the  Cave; 
this  stone  was  raised,  and  was  about  four  feet 
wide  and  as  many  long;  beneath  it  was  a  square 
excavation  about  three  feet  deep  and  as  many 
in  length  and  width.  In  this  small  nether  sub- 
terranean chamber,  sat  in  solemn  silence  one  of 
the  human  species,  a  female  with  her  wardrobe 
and  ornaments  placed  at  her  side.  The  body 
was  in  a  state  of  perfect  preservation,  and  sitting 
2* 


26  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

erect.  The  arms  were  folded  up  and  the  hands 
were  laid  across  the  bosom;  around  the  two 
wrists  was  wound  a  small  cord,  designed  proba- 
bly, to  keep  them  in  the  posture  in  which  they 
were  jfirst  placed;  around  the  body  and  next 
thereto,  was  wrapped  two  deer-skins.  These 
skins  appear  to  have  been  dressed  in  some  mode 
different  from  what  is  now  practised  by  any  peo- 
ple, of  whom  I  have  any  knowledge.  The  hair 
of  the  skins  was  cut  off  very  near  the  surface. 
The  skins  were  ornamented  with  the  imprints  of 
vines  and  leaves,  which  were  sketched  with 
a  substance  perfectly  white.  Outside  of  these 
two  skins  was  a  large  square  sheet,  which  was 
either  wove  or  knit.  This  fabric  was  the  inner 
bark  of  a  tree,  which  I  judge  from  appearances 
to  be  that  of  the  linn  tree.  In  its  texture  and 
appearance,  it  resembled  the  South  Sea  Island 
cloth  or  matting;  this  sheet  enveloped  the  whole 
body  and  the  head.  The  hair  on  the  head  was 
cut  off  within  an  eighth  of  an  inch  of  the  skin, 
except  near  the  neck,  where  it  was  an  inch  long. 
The  color  of  the  hair  was  a  dark  red;  the  teeth 
were  white  and  perfect.  I  discovered  no  blem- 
ish upon  the  body,  except  a  wound  between  two 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  27 

ribs  near  the  back-bone;  one  of  the  eyes  had 
also  been  mjured.  The  finger  and  toe  nails 
were  perfect  and  quite  long.  The  features  were 
regular.  I  measured  the  length  of  one  of  the 
bones  of  the  arm  with  a  string,  from  the  elbow 
to  the  wrist  joint,  and  they  equalled  my  own  in 
length,  viz:  ten  and  a  half  inches.  From  the 
examination  of  the  whole  fi-ame,  I  judged  the 
figure  to  be  that  of  a  very  tall  female,  say  five 
feet  ten  inches  in  height.  The  body,  at  the 
time  it  was  first  discovered,  weighed  but  four- 
teen pounds,  and  was  perfectly  dry;  on  expo- 
sure to  the  atmosphere,  it  gained  in  weight  by 
absorbing  dampness  four  pounds.  Many  per- 
sons have  expressed  surprise  that  a  human  body 
of  great  size  should  weigh  so  little,  as  many  hu- 
man skeletons  of  nothing  but  bone,  exceed  this 
weight.  Recently  some  experiments  have  been 
made  in  Paris,  which  have  demonstrated  the 
fact  of  the  human  body  being  reduced  to  ten 
pounds,  by  being  exposed  to  a  heated  atmos- 
phere for  a  long  period  of  time.  The  color  of 
the  skin  was  dark,  not  black;  the  flesh  was 
hard  and  dry  upon  the  bones.  At  the  side  of 
the  body  lay  a  pair  of  moccasins,  a  knapsack 


28  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

and  an  indispensable  or  reticule,  I  will  describe 
these  in  the  order  in  which  I  have  named  them. 
The  moccasins  were  made  of  wove  or  knit  bark, 
like  the  wrapper  I  have  described.  Around  the 
top  there  was  a  border  to  add  strength  and  per- 
haps as  an  ornament.  These  were  of  middling 
size,  denoting  feet  of  smaH  size.  The  shape  of 
the  moccasins  differs  but  little  from  the  deer-skin 
moccasins  worn  by  the  Northern  Indians.  The 
knapsack  was  of  wove  or  knit  bark,  with  a 
deep,  strong  border  around  the  top,  and  was 
about  the  size  of  knapsacks  used  by  soldiers. 
The  workmanship  of  it  was  neat,  and  such  as 
would  do  credit  as  a  fabric,  to  a  manufacturer 
of  the  present  day.  The  reticule  was  also  made 
of  knit  or  wove  bark.  The  shape  was  much 
like  a  horseman's  valise,  opening  its  whole  length 
on  the  top.  On  the  side  of  the  opening  and  a 
few  inches  from  it,  were  two  rows  of  hoops, 
one  row  on  each  side.  Two  cords  were  fast- 
ened to  one  end  of  the  reticule  at  the  top,  which 
passed  through  the  loop  on  one.  side  and  then 
on  the  other  side,  the  whole  length,  by  which 
it  was  laced  up  and  secured.  .The  edges  of  the 
top  of  the  reticule  were  strengthened  with  deep 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  29 

fancy  borders.  The  articles  contained  in  the 
knapsack  and  reticule  were  quite  numerous,  and 
are  as  follows:  one  head  cap,  made  of  wove  or 
knit  bark,  without  any  border,  and  of  the  shape 
of  the  plainest  night  cap;  seven  head-dresses 
made  of  the  quills  of  large  birds,  and  put  together 
somewhat  in  the  same  way  that  feather  fans  are 
made,  except  that  the  pipes  of  the  quills  are  not 
drawn  to  a  point,  but  are  spread  out  in  straight 
hues  with  the  top.  This  was  done  by  perfo- 
rating the  pipe  of  the  quill  in  two  places  and 
running  two  cords  through  these  holes,  and  then 
winding  around  the  quills  and  the  cord,  fine 
thread,  to  fasten  each  quill  in  the  place  designed 
for  it.  These  coi-ds  extended  some  length  beyond 
the  quills  on  each  side,  so  that  on  placing  the 
feathers  erect  on  the  head,  the  cords  could  be 
tied  together  at  the  back  of  the  head.  This 
would  enable  the  wearer  to  present  a  beautiful 
display  of  feathers  standing  erect  and  extending 
a  distance  above  the  head,  and  entirely  surround- 
ing it.  These  were  most  splendid  head  dresses, 
and  would  be  a  magnificent  ornament  to  the 
head  of  a  female  at  the  present  day, — several 
hundred  strings  of  beads ;  these  consisted  of  a. 


30  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

very  hard  brown  seed  smaller  than  hemp  seed, 
in  each  of  which  a  small  hole  had  been  made, 
and  through  this  hole  a  small  three  corded  thread, 
similar  in  appearance  and  texture  to  seine  twine ; 
these  were  tied  up  in  bunches,  as  a  merchant 
ties  up  coral  beads  when  he  exposes  them  for 
sale.  The  red  hoofs  of  fawns,  on  a  string  sup- 
posed to  be  worn  around  the  neck  as  a  necklace. 
These  hoofs  were  about  twenty  in  number,  and 
may  have  been  emblematic  of  Innocence ;  the 
claw  of  an  eagle,  with  a  hole  made  in  it,  through 
which  a  cord  was  passed,  so  that  it  could  be 
worn  pendent  from  the  neck  ;  the  jaw  of  a  bear 
designed  to  be  worn  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
eagle's  claw,  and  supplied  with  a  cord  to  suspend 
it  around  the  neck ;  two  rattlesnake-skins,  one 
of  these  had  fourteen  rattles  upon  it,  these  were 
neatly  folded  up  ;  some  vegetable  colors  done  up 
in  leaves ;  a  small  bunch  of  deer  sinews,  resem- 
bling cat-gut  in  appearance ;  several  bunches  of 
thread  and  twine,  two  and  three  threaded,  some 
of  which  were  nearly  white ;  seven  needles, 
some  of  these  were  of  horn  and  some  of  bone, 
they  were  smooth  and  appeared  to  have  been 
much  used.     These  needles  had  each  a  knob 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  31 

or  whirl  on  the  top,  and  at  the  other  end  were 
brought  to  a  point  hke  a  large  sail  needle.  They 
had  no  eyelets  to  receive  a  thread.  The  top 
of  one  of  these  needles  was  handsomely  scalloped; 
a  hand-piece  made  of  deer-skin,  with  a  hole 
through  it  for  the  thumb,  and  designed  probably 
to  protect  the  hand  in  the  use  of  the  needle,  the 
same  as  thimbles  are  now  used ;  two  whistles 
about  eight  inches  long  made  of  cane,  with  a 
joint  about  one  third  the  length ;  over  the  joint 
is  an  opening  extending  to  each  side  of  the  tube 
of  the  whistle,  these  openings  were  about  three- 
fourths  of  an  inch  long  and  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
wide,  and  had  each  a  flat  reed  placed  in  the 
opening.  These  whistles  were  tied  together 
with  a  cord  wound  around  them. 

I  have  been  thus  minute  in  describing  the 
mute  witness  from  the  days  of  other  times,  and 
the  articles  which  were  deposited  within  her 
earthen  house.  Of  the  race  of  people  to  whom 
she  belonged  when  living,  we  know  nothing; 
and  as  to  conjecture,  the  reader  who  gathers 
from  these  pages  this  account,  can  judge  of  the 
matter  as  well  as  those  who  saw  the  remnant  of 
mortality  in  the  subterranean  chambers  in  which 


32  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

she  was  entombed.  The  cause  of  the  preserva- 
tion of  her  body,  dress  and  ornaments  is  no 
mystery.  The  dry  atmosphere  of  the  Cave, 
with  the  nitrate  of  Hme,  with  which  the  earth 
that  covers  the  bottom  of  these  nether  palaces  is 
so  highly  impregnated,  preserves  animal  flesh, 
and  it  will  neither  putrify  nor  decompose  when 
confined  to  its  unchanging  action.  Heat  and 
moisture  are  both  absent  from  the  Cave,  and  it  is 
these  two  agents,  acting  together,  which  produce 
both  animal  and  vegetable  decomposition  and 
putrefaction. 

In  the  ornaments,  etc.,  of  this  mute  witness  of 
ages  gone,  we  have  a  record  of  olden  time,  from 
which,  in  the  absence  of  a  written  record,  we 
may  draw  some  conclusions.  In  the  various 
articles  which  constituted  her  ornaments,  there 
were  no  metallic  substances.  In  the  make  of 
her  dress,  there  is  no  evidence  of  the  use  of  any 
other  machinery  than  the  bone  and  horn  needles. 
The  beads  are  of  a  substance,  of  the  use  of 
which  for  such  purposes,  we  have  no  account 
among  people  of  whom  we  have  any  written 
record.  She  had  no  warlike  arms.  By  what 
process  the  hair  upon  her  head  was  rut  short, 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  33 

or  by  what  process  the  deer-skins  were  shorn, 
we  have  no  means  of  conjecture.  These  arti- 
cles afford  us  the  same  means  of  judging  of  the 
nation  to  w  hich  she  belonged,  and  of  their  ad- 
vances in  the  arts,  that  future  generations  will 
have  in  the  exhumation  of  a  tenant  of  one  of 
our  modern  tombs,  with  the  funeral  shroud,  etc. 
in  a  state  of  like  preservation ;  with  this  differ- 
ence, that  W'ith  the  present  inhabitants  of  this 
section  of  the  globe,  but  few^  articles  of  ornament 
are  deposited  with  the  body.  The  features  of 
this  ancient  member  of  the  human  family  much 
resembled  those  of  a  tall,  handsome  American 
woman.  The  forehead  was  high,  and  the  head 
well  formed." 

"  Ye  moukleriug  relics  of  a  race  do[)artcil, 
Your  names  have  perished  ;  not  a  trace  remains." 

The  Gothic  Avenue  was  once  called  the  Haun- 
ted Chamber,  and  owed  its  name  to  an  adven- 
ture that  befell  one  of  the  miners  in  former  days, 
which  is  thus  related  by  the  author  of  ''Calavar." 

"  In  the  Lower  Branch  is  a  room  called  the 
Salts  Room,  which  produces  considerable  quan- 
tities of  the  sulphate  of  magnesia,  or  of  soda, 
we  forget  which  —  a  mineral  that  the  proprietor 


34  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

of  the  Cave  did  not  fail  to  turn  to  account.  The 
miner  in  question  w^as  a  new  and  ravv^  hand — of 
course  neither  very  well  acquainted  with  the 
Cave  itself,  nor  with  the  approved  modes  of 
averting  or  repairing  accidents,  to  which,  from 
the  nature  of  their  occupation,  the  miners  were 
greatly  exposed.  Having  been  sent,  one  day, 
in  charge  of  an  older  workman,  to  the  Salts 
Room  to  dig  a  few  sacks  of  the  salt,  and  finding 
that  the  path  to  this  sequestered  nook  was  per- 
fectly plain ;  and  that,  from  the  Haunted  Cham- 
bers being  a  single,  continuous  passage  without 
branches,  it  was  impossible  to  wander  from  it, 
our  hero  disdained  on  his  second  visit,  to  seek 
or  accept  assistance,  and  trudged  off  to  his  work 
alone.  The  circumstance  being  common  enough 
he  was  speedily  forgotten  by  his  brother  miners ; 
and  it  was  not  until  several  hours  after,  when 
they  all  left  off  their  toil  for  the  more  agreeable 
duty  of  eating  their  dinner,  that  his  absence  was 
remarked,  and  his  heroical  resolution  to  make 
his  way  alone  to  the  Salts  Room  remembered. 
As  it  was  apparent,  from  the  time  he  had  been  gone, 
that  some  accident  must  have  happened  to  him, 
half  a  dozen  men,  most  of  them  negi-oes,  strip- 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  35 

ped  half  naked,  tlieir  usual  working  costume,  were 
sent  to  hunt  him  up,  a  task  supposed  to  be  of 
no  great  difficulty,  unless  he  had  fallen  into  a  pit. 
In  the  meanwhile,  the  poor  miner,  it  seems,  had 
succeeded  in  reaching  the  Salts  Room,  filling 
his  sack,  and  retracing  his  steps  half  way  back 
to  the  Grand  Gallery ;  when  finding  the  distance 
greater  than  he  thought  it  ought  to  be,  the  con- 
ceit entered  his  unlucky  brain  that  he  might 
perhaps  be  going  wrong.  No  sooner  had  the 
suspicion  struck  him,  than  he  fell  into  a  violent 
terror,  dropped  his  sack,  ran  backwards,  then  re- 
turned, then  ran  back  again — each  time  more 
frightened  and  bewildered  than  before;  until 
at  last  he  ended  his  adventure  by  tumbling 
over  a  stone  and  extinguishing  his  lamp.  Thus 
left  in  the  dark,  not  knowing  where  to  turn, 
frightened  out  of  his  wits  besides,  he  fell  to  re- 
membering his  sins — always  remembered  by 
those  who  are  lost  in  the  Cave — and  praying 
with  all  his  might  for  succor.  But  hours  pass- 
ed away,  and  assistance  came  not;  the  poor 
fellow's  frenzy  increased ;  he  felt  himself  a  doom- 
ed man ;  he  thought  his  terrible  situation  was  a 
judgment  imposed  on  him  for  his  wickedness ; 


36  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

iiay,  he  even  believed,  at  last,  that  he  was  no 
longer  an  inhabitant  of  the  earth — that  he  had 
been  translated,  even  in  the  body,  to  the  place 
of  torment — in  other  words,  that  he  was  in  hell 
itself,  the  prey  of  the  devils,  who  would  pres- 
ently be  let  loose  upon  him.  It  was  at  this 
moment  the  miners  in  search  of  him  made  their 
appearance ;  they  lighted  upon  his  sack,  lying 
where  he  had  thrown  it,  and  set  up  a  great  shout, 
which  was  the  first  intimation  he  had  of  their 
approach.  He  started  up,  and  seeing  them  in 
the  distance,  the  half  naked  negroes  in  advance, 
all  swinging  their  torches  aloft,  he,  not  doubting 
they  were  those  identical  devils  whose  appear- 
ance he  had  been  expecting,  took  to  his  heels, 
yelling  lustily  for  mercy ;  nor  did  he  stop,  not- 
withstanding the  calls  of  his  amazed  friends, 
until  he  had  fallen  a  second  time  over  the  rocks, 
where  he  lay  on  his  face,  roaring  for  pity,  until, 
by  dint  of  much  puUing  and  shaking,  he  was 
convinced  that  he  was  still  in  the  world  and  the 
Mammoth  Cave."  Such  is  the  story  of  the 
Haunted  Chambers,  the  name  having  been  given 
to  commemorate  the  incident. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Stalagmite  Pillars — The  Bell — Vulcan's  Furnace — Register  Rooms — 
Stalagmite  Hall  or  Gothic  Chapel — Devil's  Ann-Chair — Elephant's 
Head — Lover's  Leap — Napoleon's  Dome  —  Salts  Cave — Amietti's 
Dome. 

Resuming  our  explorations  in  this  most  inter- 
esting avenue,  we  soon  came  in  sight  of  stal- 
agmite pillars,  reaching  from  the  floor  to  the 
ceiling,  once  perhaps  white  and  translucent,  but 
now  black  and  begrimed  with  smoke.  At  this 
point  we  w^ere  startled  by  the  hollow  tread  of 
our  feet,  caused  by  the  proximity  of  another 
large  avenue  underneath,  which  the  guide  assur- 
ed us  he  had  often  visited.  In  this  neighbor- 
hood too,  there  are  a  number  of  Stalactites,  one  of 
which  was  called  the  Bell,  which  on  being  struck, 
sounded  like  the  deep  bell  of  a  cathedral ;  but  it 
now  no  longer  tolls,  having  been  broken  in  twain 
by  a  visiter  from  Philadelphia  some  years  ago. 
Further  on  our  way,  we  passed  Louisa's  Bower 
and  Vulcan's  Furnace,  where  there  is  a  heap,  not 

462404 


38  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

unlike  cinders  in  appearance,  and  some  dark 
colored  water,  in  which  I  suppose  the  great  forger 
used  to  slake  his  iron  and  perhaps  his  bolts. 
Next  in  order  and  not  very  distant  are  the  new 
and  old  Register  Rooms.  Here  on  the  ceiling 
which  is  as  smooth  and  white  as  if  it  had  been 
finished  off  by  the  plasterer,  thousands  of  names 
have  been  traced  by  the  smoke  of  a  candle — 
names  which  can  create  no  pleasing  associations 
or  recollections ;  names  unknown  to  fame,  and 
\\  hich  might  excite  disgust,  when  read  for  the 
first  time  on  the  ceiling  which  they  have  dis- 
figured. 

Soon  after  leaving  the  old  Register  Room, 
we  were  halted  by  our  guide,  who  took  from 
us  all  the  lamps  excepting  one.  Having  made 
certain  arrangements,  he  cried  aloud,  "Come  on! " 
which  we  did,  and  in  a  few  moments  entered 
an  apartment  of  surprising  grandeur  and  mag- 
nificence. This  apartment  or  hall  is  elliptical  in 
shape  and  eighty  feet  long  by  fifty  wide.  Stal- 
agmite columns,  of  vast  size  nearly  block  up  the 
two  ends;  and  two  rows  of  pillars  of  smaller  di- 
mensions, reaching  from  floor  to  ceiling  and  equi- 
distant fron\  ihe  wall  on  either  side,  extend  its 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  39 

entire  length.  Against  the  pillars,  and  in  many 
places  from  the  ceiling,  our  lamps  were  hanging, 
and,  lighting  up  the  whole  space,  exhibited  to 
our  enraptured  sight  a  scene  surpassingly  grand, 
and  well  calculated  to  inspire  feelings  of  solem- 
nity and  awe.  This  is  the  Stalagmite  Hall,  or 
as  some  call  it,  the  Gothic  Chapel,  which  no 
one  can  see  under  such  circumstances  as  did 
our  party,  without  being  forcibly  reminded  of 
the  old,  very  old  cathedrals  of  Europe.  Con- 
tinuing our  walk  we  came  to  the  Devil's  Arm- 
Chair.  This  is  a  large  Stalagmite  column,  in 
the  centre  of  which  is  formed  a  capacious  seat. 
Like  most  other  visiters  we  seated  ourselves  in 
the  chair  of  his  Satanic  Majesty,  and  drank  sul- 
phur water  dipped  up  from  a  small  basin  of  rock, 
near  the  foot  of  the  chair.  Further  on  we  pass- 
ed a  number  of  Stalactites  and  Stalagmites,  Na- 
poleon's Breast- Work,  (behind  which  we  found 
ashes  and  burnt  cane,)  the  Elephant's  Head,  the 
Curtain,  and  arrived  at  last  at  the  Lover's  Leap. 
The  Lover's  Leap  is  a  large  pointed  rock  pro- 
jecting over  a  dark  and  gloomy  hollow,  thirty 
or  more  feet  deep.  Our  guide  told  us  that  the 
young  ladies  often  asked  their  beaux  to  take  the 


40  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

Lover's  Leap,  but  that  lie  never  knew  any  to 
''  love  hard  enough  "  to  attempt  it.  We  descended 
into  the  hollow,  immediately  below^  the  Lover's 
Leap,  and  entered  to  the  left  and  at  right-angle 
with  our  previous  course,  a  passage  or  chasm  in 
the  rock,  three  feet  wide  and  fifty  feet  high, 
which  conducted  us  to  the  lower  branch  of  the 
Gothic  Avenue.  At  the  entrance  of  this  lower 
branch  is  an  immensely  large  flat  rock' called 
Gatewood's  Dining  Table,  to  the  right  of  which 
is  a  cave,  which  we  penetrated,  as  far  as  the 
Cooling  Tub  —  a  beautiful  basin  of  water  six 
feet  wide  and  three  deep — into  which  a  small 
stream  of  the  purest  water  pours  itself  fi'om  the 
ceiling  and  afterwards  finds  its  way  into  the 
Flint  Pit  at  no  great  distance.  Returning,  we 
wound  around  Gatewood's  Dining  Table,  which 
nearly  blocks  up  the  way,  and  continued  our 
walk  along  the  lower  branch  more  than  half 
a  mile,  passing  Napoleon's  Dome,  the  Cinder 
Banks,  the  Crystal  Pool,  the  Salts  Cave,  etc.,  etc. 
Descending  a  few  feet  and  leaving  the  cave 
which  continues  onwards,  we  entered,  on  our 
right,  a  place  of  great  seclusion  and  grandeur, 
called  Annetti's  Dome.     Througli  a  crevice   in 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  41 

the  right  wall  of  the  dome  is  a  wateitall.  Tlie 
water  issues  in  a  stream  a  foot  in  diameter,  from 
a  high  cave  in  the  side  of  the  dome — fails  upon 
the  solid  bottom,  and  passes  off  by  a  small  chan- 
nel into  the  Cistern,  which  is  directly  on  the 
pathway  of  the  cave.  The  Cistern  is  a  large 
pit,  w  hich  is  usually  kept  nearly  full  of  water. 

Near  the  end  of  this  branch,  (the  lower  branch) 
there  is  a  crevice  in  the  ceiling  over  the  last 
spring,  through  which  the  sound  of  water  may 
be  heard  falling  in  a  cave  or  open  space  above. 

Highly  gratified  with  what  we  had  now  seen 
in  the  Gothic  Avenue,  we  concluded  to  pursue 
it  no  further,  but  to  retrace  our  steps  to  the  Main 
Cave,  regretting  however,  that  we  had  not  visited 
the  Salts  Cave,  (a  branch  of  the  Gothic  Avenue,) 
on  being  told,  when  too  late,  that  it  would  have 
amply  compensated  us  for  our  trouble,  being  rich 
in  fine  specimens  of  Epsom  or  Glauber  salts. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Ball-Room— Willie's  Spring— Wandering  Willie— Ox-Stalls— Gi- 
ant's Coffin — Acute- Angle  or  Great  Bend — Range  of  Cabins — Curative 
Properties  of  the  Cave  Air  long  known. 

We  are  now  again  in  the  Main  Cave  or  Grand 
Gallery,  which  continues  to  increase  in  interest 
as  we  advance,  eliciting  from  our  party  frequent 
and  loud  exclamations  of  admiration  and  wonder. 
Not  many  steps  from  the  stairs  leading  down 
from  the  Gothic  Avenue  into  the  Main  Cave, 
is  the  Bail-Room,  so  called  from  its  singular 
adaptedness  to  such  a  purpose ;  for  there  is  an 
orchestra,  fifteen  or  eighteen  feet  high,  large 
enough  to  accommodate  a  hundred  or  more 
musicians,  with  a  gallery  extending  back  to  the 
level  of  the  high  embankment  near  the  Gothic 
Avenue  ;  besides  which,  the  avenue  here  is  lofty, 
wide,  straight  and  perfectly  level  for  several 
hundred  feet.  At  the  trifling  expense  of  a  plank 
floor,   seats    and    lamps,  a  ball-room    might   be 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  43 

had,  if  not  more  splendid,  at  all  events  more 
gi'and  and  magnificent  than  any  other  on  earth. 
The  effect  of  music  here  would  be  truly  inspir- 
ing ;  but  the  awfiil  solemnity  of  the  place  may,  in 
the  opinion  of  many,  prevent  its  being  used  as 
a  temple  of  Terpsichore.  Extremes,  we  are 
told,  often  meet.  The  same  objection  has  been 
urged  against  the  Cave's  being  used  for  religious 
services.  "No  clergyman,"  "  remarked  a  distin- 
guished divine,  "  be  he  ever  so  eloquent  could 
concentrate  the  attention  of  his  congregation  in 
such  a  place.  The  God  of  nature  speaks  too 
loud  here  for  man  to  he  heard.'" 

Leaving  these  points  to  be  settled  as  they 
may,  we  will  proceed  onwards ;  the  road  now  is 
broad  and  fine,  and  in  many  places  dusty.  Next 
in  order  is  Willie's  Spring,  a  beautifully  fluted 
niche  in  the  left  hand  wall,  caused  by  the  con- 
tinual  attrition  of  water  trickling  down  into  a 
basin  below.  This  spring  derives  its  name  from 
that  of  a  young  gentleman,  the  son  of  a  highly  re- 
spectable clergyman  of  Cincinnati,  who,  in  the 
spirit  of  romance,  assumed  the  name  of  Wan- 
dering Willie,  and  taking  with  him  his  violhi, 
marched  on  foot  to   the   Cave.      Wishing  no 


44  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

better  place  in  which  to  pass  the  night,  he  select- 
ed this  spot,  requesting  the  guide  to  call  for  him 
in  the  morning.  This  he  did  and  found  him 
fast  asleep  upon  his  bed  of  earth,  with  his  viohn 
beside  him  —  ever  since  it  has  been  called  Wilhe's 
Spring.  Just  beyond  the  spring  and  near  the 
left  wall,  is  the  place  where  the  oxen  were  fed 
during  the  time  of  the  miners ;  and  strewn  around 
are  a  great  many  corn-cobs,  to  all  appearance, 
and  in  fact,  perfectly  sound,  although  they  have 
lain  there  for  more  than  thirty  years.  In  this 
neighborhood  is  a  niche  of  great  size  in  the  wall 
on  the  left,  and  reaching  from  the  roof  to  the  bot- 
tom of  a  pit  more  than  thirty  feet  deep,  down  the 
sides  of  which,  water  of  the  purest  kind  is  contin- 
ually dripping,  and  is  afterwards  conducted  to  a 
large  trough,  from  which  the  invalids  obtain  their 
supply  of  water,  during  their  sojourn  in  the  Cave. 
Near  the  bottom,  this  pit  or  well  expands  into  a 
large  room,  out  of  which,  there  is  no  opening.  It 
is  probable  that  Richardson's  Springin  the  Desert- 
ed Chambers  is  supplied  from  this  well.  Passing 
the  Well  Cave,  Rocky  Cave,  etc.,  etc.,  we  arrived 
at  the  Giant's  Coffin,  a  huge  rock  or>  the  right, 
thus   named   from   its    singular   resemblance   in 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  45 

shape  to  a  coffin;  its  locality,  apart  from  its 
great  size,  renders  it  particnlarly  conspicnous, 
as  all  must  pass  around  it,  in  leaving  the  Main 
Cave,  to  visit  the  rivers  and  the  thousand  won- 
ders beyond.  At  this  point  commence  those 
incrustations,  which,  portraying  every  imaginable 
figure  on  the  ceiling,  aftbrd  full  scope  to  the 
fanciful  to  picture  what  they  will,  whether  of 
"birds,  or  beasts,  or  creeping  things."  About 
a  hundred  yards  beyond  the  Coffin,  the  Cave 
makes  a  majestic  curve,  and  sweeping  round 
the  Great  Bend  or  Acute-Angle,  resumes  its  gen- 
eral course.  Here  the  guide  ignited  a  Bengal 
light.  This  vast  amphitheatre  became  illumin- 
ated, and  a  scene  of  enchantment  was  exposed 
to  our  view.  Poets  may  conceive,  but  no  lan- 
guage can  describe,  the  splendor  and  sublimity 
of  the  scene.  The  rapturous  exclamations  of 
our  party  might  have  been  heard  from  afar, 
both  up  and  down  this  place  of  wonders.  Op- 
posite to  the  Great  Bend,  is  the  entrance  of  the 
Sick  Room  Cave,  so  called  from  the  fact  of  the 
sudden  sickness  of  a  visiter  a  few  years  ago,  sup- 
posed to  have  been  caused  by  his  smoking,  with 
others,  cigars  in  one  of  its  most  remote  and  con- 
4 


46  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

fined  nooks.  Immediately  beyond  the  Great 
Bend,  a  row  of  cabins,  built  for  consumptive 
patients,  commences.  All  of  these  are  framed 
buildings,  with  the  exception  of  two,  which  are 
of  stone.  They  stand  in  line,  from  thirty  to 
one  hundred  feet  apart,  exhibiting  a  picturesque, 
yet  at  the  same  time,  a  gloomy  and  mournful 
appearance.  They  are  well  famished,  and  with- 
out question,  would  with  good  and  comfortable 
accommodations,  pure  air  and  uniform  temper- 
ature, cure  the  pulmonary  consumption.  The 
invalids  in  the  Cave  ought  to  be  cured;  but  I 
doubt  Avhether  the  Cave  air  or  any  thing  else 
can  cure  confirmed  Phthisis.  A  knowledge  of 
the  curative  properties  of  the  Cave  air,  is  not, 
as  is  generally  supposed,  of  recent  date.  It  has 
been  long  known.  A  physician  of  great  respect- 
ability, formerly  a  member  of  Congress  from  the 
district  adjoining  the  Cave,  was  so  firmly  con- 
vinced of  the  medical  properties  of  its  air,  as  to 
express  more  than  twenty  years  ago,  as  his  opin- 
ion, that  the  State  of  Kentucky  ought  to  pur- 
chase it,  with  a  view  to  establish  a  hospital  in 
one  of  its  avenues.  Again  the  author  of  "Cala- 
var,"  himself  a  distinguished  professor  of  med- 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  47 

icine,  makes  the  following  remarks  in  relation 
to  the  Cave  air,  as  far  back  as  1832,  the  date 
of  his  visit: 

"It  is  always  temperate.  Its  pm-ity,  judging 
from  its  effects  on  the  lungs,  and  from  other  cir- 
cumstances, is  remarkable,  though  in  what  its 
purity  consists,  I  know  not.  But,  be  its  compo- 
sition what  it  may,  it  is  certain  its  effects  upon 
the  spirits  aud  bodily  powers  of  visiters,  are  ex- 
tremely exhilarating ;  and  that  it  is  not  less  salu- 
brious than  enlivening.  The  nitre  diggers  w^ere 
a  famously  healthy  set  of  men ;  it  was  a  com- 
mon and  humane  practice  to  employ  laborers  of 
enfeebled  constitutions,  who  were  soon  restored 
to  health  and  strength,  though  kept  at  constant 
labour;  and  more  joyous,  merry  fellows  were 
never  seen.  The  oxen,  of  which  several  were 
kept  day  and  night  in  the  Cave,  hauling  the 
nitrous  earth,  were  after  a  month  or  two  of  toil, 
in  as  fine  condition  for  the  shambles,  as  if  fatten- 
ed in  the  stall.  The  ordinary  visiter,  though 
rambling  a  dozen  hours  or  more,  over  paths  of 
the  roughest  and  most  difficult  kind,  is  seldom 
conscious  of  fatigue,  until  he  returns  to  the  upper 
air ;  and  then   it  seems  to  him,  at  least  in  the 


48  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

summer  season,  that  he  has  exchanged  the  at- 
mosphere of  paradise  for  that  of  a  charnel  warm- 
ed by  steam  —  all  without  is  so  heavy,  so  dank, 
so  dead,  so  mephitic.  Awe  and  even  apprehen- 
sion, if  that  has  been  felt,  soon  yield  to  the  in- 
fluence of  the  delicious  air  of  the  Cave;  and 
after  a  time  a  certain  jocund  feeling  is  found 
mingled  with  the  deepest  impressions  of  sublim- 
ity, which  there  are  so  many  objects  to  awaken. 
I  recommend  all  broken  hearted  lovers  and 
dyspeptic  dandies  to  carry  their  complaints  to 
the  Mammoth  Cave,  where  they  will  undoubt- 
edly find  themselves  "translated"  into  very  bux- 
om and  happy  persons  before  they  are  aware 
of  it." 


CHAPTER  V. 

Star  Chamber — Salts  Room — Indian  Houses — Cross  Rooms — Black 
Chambers — A  Dmuer  Party — Humble  Chute — Solitai'y  Cave — Fairy 
Grotto — Chief  City  or  Temple — Lee's  Description — Return  to  tlie  Hotel- 

The  Star  Chamber  next  attracted  our  atten- 
tion. It  presents  the  most  perfect  optical  illu- 
sion imaginable ;  in  looking  up  to  the  ceiling, 
which  is  here  very  high,  you  seem  to  see  the 
very  firmament  itself,  studded  with  stars ;  and 
afar  off,  a  comet  with  its  long,  bright  tail.  Not 
far  from  this  Star  Chamber,  may  be  seen,  in  a 
cavity  in  the  wall  on  the  right,  and  about  twenty 
feet  above  the  floor,  an  oak  pole  about  ten 
feet  long  and  six  inches  in  diameter,  with  two 
round  sticks  of  half  the  thickness  and  three  feet 
long,  tied  on  to  it  transversely,  at  about  four  feet 
apart.  By  means  of  a  ladder  we  ascended  to 
the  cavity,  and  found  the  pole  to  be  firmly  fixed 
—  one  end  resting  on  the  bottom  of  the  cavity, 
and  the  other  reaching  across  and  forced  into  a 
4* 


50  MA3LM0TH    CAVE. 

crevice  about  three  feet  above.  We  supposed 
that  this  was  a  ladder  once  used  by  the  former 
inhabitants  of  the  Cave,  in  getting  the  salts 
which  are  incrusted  on  the  walls  in  many  places. 
Doct.  Locke,  of  the  Medical  College  of  Ohio,  is, 
however,  of  the  opinion,  that  on  it  was  placed  a 
dead  body, —  similar  contrivances  being  used  by 
some  Indian  tribes  on  which  to  place  their  dead. 
Although  thousands  have  passed  the  spot,  still 
this  was  never  seen  until  the  fall  of  1841.  Ages 
have  doubtless  rolled  by  since  this  was  placed 
here,  and  yet  it  is  perfectly  sound  ;  even  the  bark 
which  confines  the  transverse  pieces  shows  no 
marks  of  decay. 

We  passed  through  some  Side  Cuts,  as  they 
are  called.  These  are  caves  opening  on  the 
sides  of  the  avenues ;  and  after  running  for  some 
distance,  entering  them  again.  Some  of  them 
exceed  half  a  mile  in  length  ;  but  most  generally 
they  are  short.  In  many  of  them,  "  quartz,  cal- 
cedony,  red  ochre,  gypsum,  and  salts  are  found." 
The  walking,  in  this  part  of  the  avenue,  being 
rough,  we  progressed  but  slowly,  until  we  reached 
the  Salts  Room ;  here  we  found  the  walls  and 
ceiling  covered  with  salts  hanging  in   crystals. 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  51 

The  least  agitation  of  the  air  causing  flakes  of 
the  crystals  to  fall  like  snow.  In  the  Salts 
Room  are  the  Indian  houses,  under  the  rocks — 
small  spaces  or  rooms  completely  covered — some 
of  which  contain  ashes  and  cane  partly  burnt." 
The  Cross  Rooms,  which  we  next  come  to,  is 
a  grand  section  of  this  avenue ;  the  ceiling  has 
an  unbroken  span  of  one  hundred  and  seventy 
feet,  without  a  column  to  support  it !  The 
mouths  of  two  caves  are  seen  from  this  point, 
neither  of  which  we  visited,  and  nmcli  to  our 
loss,  as  will  appear  from  the  following  extract 
from  the  "  Notes  on  the  Mammoth  Cave,  by  E. 
F.  Lee,  Esq.,  Civil  Engineer,"  in  relation  to  one 
of  them — the  Black  Chambers: 

"  At  the  ruins  in  the  Black  Chambers,  there 
are  a  great  many  large  blocks  composed  of  dif- 
ferent strata  of  rocks,  cemented  together,  resem- 
bling the  walls,  pedestals,  cornices,  etc.,  of  some 
old  castle,  scattered  over  the  bottom  of  the  Cave. 
The  avenue  here  is  so  wide,  as  to  make  it  quite 
a  task  to  walk  from  one  side  to  the  other.  On 
the  right  hand,  beyond  the  ruins,  you  enter  the 
right  branch,  on  the  same  level — the  ceihng  of 
which '  is  regularly  arched.     Through  the   Big 


52  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

Chimneys  you  ascend  into  an  upper  room,  about 
the  size  of  the  Main  Cave,  the  bottom  of  which 
is  higher  than  the  ceihng  of  the  one  below. 
Proceeding  on  we  soon  heard  the  low  murmur- 
ings  of  a  water-fall, — the  sound  of  which  be- 
comes louder  and  louder  as  we  advanced,  until 
we  reached  the  Cataract.  In  the  roof  are  per- 
forations as  large  as  a  hogshead,  on  the  right 
hand  side,  from  which  water  is  ever  falling,  on 
ordinary  occasions  in  not  very  large  quantities; 
but  after  heavy  rains  —  in  torrents;  and  with  a 
horrible  roar  that  shakes  the  walls  and  resounds 
afar  through  the  Cave.  It  is  at  such  times  that 
these  cascades  are  worthy  the  name  of  cata- 
racts, which  they  bear.  The  water  falling  into 
a  great  fimnel-shaped  pit,  immediately  vanishes." 
Here  we  concluded  to  dine,  and  at  quite  a  fash- 
ionable hour — 4,  P.  M.  The  guide  arranged 
the  plates,  knives  and  forks,  wine-glasses,  etc., 
on  a  huge  table  of  rock,  and  announced, —  "Din- 
ner is  ready ! "  We  filled  our  plates  ^^  itli  the  ex- 
cellent viands  prepared  at  the  Cave  House,  and 
seating  ourselves  on  the  rocks  or  nitre  earth, 
partook  of  our  repast  with  the  gusto  of  gour- 
mands, and  quaffing,  ever  and  anon,  wines  which 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  53 

would  have  done  credit  to  the  Astor  or  Tre- 
mont  House.  "  There  may  be,"  remarked  our 
corpulent  friend  B.,  "  a  great  deal  of  romance  in 
this  way  of  eating — with  your  plate  on  your  lap, 
and  seated  on  a  rock  or  a  lump  of  nitre  earth  — 
but  for  my  part  I  would  rather  dispense  with 
the  poetry  of  the  thing  and  eat  a  good  dinner, 
whether  above  or  below  ground,  from  off  a  bona- 
fide  table,  and  seated  in  a  good  substantial  chair. 
The  proprietor  ought  to  have  at  all  the  "water- 
ing places,  (and  they  are  numerous,)  tables, 
chairs,  and  the  necessary  table  furniture,  that 
visitors  might  partake  of  their  collations  in  some 
degree  of  comfort."  The  guide  who,  by  the 
way,  is  a  very  intelligent  and  facetious  fellow, 
was  much  amused  at  the  suggestion  of  our  friend, 
and  remarked  that  "the  owner  of  the  Cave,  Doct. 
Croghan,  lived  near  Louisville,  and  that  the 
only  way  to  get  such  'fixings  at  the  watering 
places,  was  to  write  to  him  on  the  subject." 
"  Then, "  said  B.,  "  for  the  sake  of  those  who 
may  follow  after  us,  I  will  take  it  upon  myself 
to  write." 

From  this  point  you  have  a  ^  iew  of  the  Main 
Avenue  on  our  left,  pursuing  its  general  course, 


54  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

and  exhibiting  the  same  solemn  grandeur  as  from 
the  commencement, —  and  directly  before  us  the 
way  to  the  Humble  Chute  and  the  Cataract. 
The  Humble  Chute  is  the  entrance  to  the  Soli- 
tary Chambers  ;  before  entering  which,  we  must 
crawl  on  our  hands  and  knees  some  fifteen  or 
twenty  feet  under  a  low  arch,  ft  is  appropri- 
ately named ;  as  is  the  Solitary  Chambers  which 
we  have  now  entered.  You  feel  here, — to  use 
an  expression  of  one  of  our  party, — "out  of  the 
world."  Without  dwelling  on  the  intervening 
objects — although  they  are  numerotis  and  not 
without  interest, —  we  will  enter  at  once  the 
Fairy  Grotto  of  the  Solitary  Cave.  It  is  in  truth 
a  fairy  grotto  ;  a  countless  number  of  Stalactites 
are  seen  extending,  at  irregular  distances,  from 
the  roof  to  the  floor,  of  various  sizes  and  of  the 
most  fantastic  shapes  —  some  quite  straight, 
some  crooked,  some  large  and  hollow — forming 
irregularly  fluted  columns ;  and  some  solid  near 
the  ceiling,  and  divided  lower  down,  into  a  great 
number  of  small  branches  like  the  roots  of  trees ; 
exhibiting  the  appearance  of  a  coral  grove. 
Hanging  our  lamps  to  the  ificrustations  on  the 
colunnis,  the  grove  of  Stalactites  became  faintly 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  55 

lighted  up,  disclosing  a  scene  of  extraordinary 
wilduess  and  beauty.  -  "  This  is  nothing  to  what 
you'll  see  on  the  other  side  of  the  rivers,"  cries 
our  guide,  smiling  at  our  enthusiastic  admiration. 
With  all  its  present  beauty,  this  grotto  is  far 
from  being  what  it  was,  before  it  was  despoiled 
and  robbed  sotlie  eight  or  nine  years  ago,  by  a 
set  of  vandals,  who,  through  sheer  wantonness, 
broke  many  of  the  stalactites,  leaving  them 
strewn  on  the  floor — a  disgustful  memorial  of 
their  vulgar  propensities  and  barbarian-like  con- 
duct. 

Returning  from  the  Fairy  Grotto,  we  entered 
the  Main  Cave  at  the  Cataract,  and  continued 
our  walk  to  the  Chief  City  or  Temple,  which  is 
thus  described  by  Lee,  in  his  "  Notes  on  the 
Mammoth  Cave : " 

"  The  Temple  is  an  immense  vault  covering 
an  area  of  two  acres,  and  covered  by  a  single 
dome  of  solid  rock,  one  hundred  and  twenty 
feet  high.  It  excels  in  size  the  Cave  of  Staffa; 
and  rivals  the  celebrated  vault  in  the  Grotto  of 
Antiparos,  which  is  said  to  be  the  largest  in  the 
world.  In  passing  through  from  one  end  to  the 
other,  the  dome  appears  to  follow  like  the  sky 


56  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

in  passing  from  place  to  place  on  the  earth.  In 
the  middle  of  the  dome  there  is  a  large  mound 
of  rocks  rising  on  one  side  nearly  to  the  top, 
very  steep  and  forming  what  is  called  the  Moun- 
tain. When  first  I  ascended  this  mound  from 
the  cave  below,  I  was  struck  with  a  feeling  of 
awe  more  deep  and  intense,  than  any  thing  that 
I  had  ever  before  experienced.  I  could  only 
observe  the  narrow  circle  which  w  as  illuminated 
immediately  around  me ;  above  and  beyond 
was  apparently  an  unlimited  space,  in  which 
the  ear  could  catch  not  the  slightest  sound,  nor 
the  eye  find  an  object  to  rest  upon.  It  was 
filled  with  silence  and  darkness ;  and  yet  I  knew 
that  I  was  beneath  the  earth,  and  that  this  space, 
however  large  it  might  be,  was  actually  bounded 
by  solid  w  alls.  ]\Iy  curiosity  was  rather  excited 
than  gratified.  In  order  that  I  might  see  the 
whole  in  one  connected  view,  I  built  fires  in 
many  places  with  the  pieces  of  cane  which  I 
found  scattered  among  the  rocks.  Then  taking 
my  stand  on  the  Mountain,  a  scene  was  present- 
ed of  surprising  magnificence.  On  the  opposite 
side  the  strata  of  gray  limestone,  breaking  up  l)y 
steps  from   the  bottom,  could   scarcely  be  dis- 


MAMMOTH    CAVE,  57 

cerned  in  the  distance  by  the  gUmmering  hght. 
Above  was  the  lofty  dome,  closed  at  the  top 
by  a  smooth  oval  slab,  beautifully  defined  in 
the  outline,  from  which  the  walls  sloped  away  on 
the  right  and  left  into  thick  darkness.  Every 
one  has  heard  of  the  dome  of  the  Mosque 
of  St.  Sophia,  of  St.  Peter's  and  St.  Paul's; 
they  are  never  spoken  of  but  m  terms  of  ad- 
miration, as  the  chief  works  of  architecture, 
and  among  the  noblest  and  most  stupendous 
examples  of  what  man  can  do  when  aided  by 
science ;  and  yet  when  compared  with  the  dome 
of  this  Temple,  they  sink  into  comparative  in- 
significance. Such  is  the  surpassing  grandeur 
of  Nature's  works." 

To  us,  the  Temple  seemed  to  merit  the  glow- 
ing description  above  given,  but  what  would 
Lee  think,  on  being  told,  that  since  the  discovery 
of  the  rivers  and  the  world  of  beauties  beyond 
them,  not  one  person  in  fifty  visits  the  Temple 
or  the  Fairy  Grotto  ;  they  are  now  looked  upon 
as  tame  and  uninteresting.  The  hour  being  now 
late,  we  concluded  to  proceed  no  further,  but  to 
return  to  the  hotel,  where  we  arrived  at  11,  P.  M, 
5 


CHAPTER  VL 

Arrival  of  a  large  Party — Second  Visit — Lamps  Extinguished — Laugh- 
able Confusion — Wooden  Bowl — Deserted  Chambers — Richardson's 
Side-Saddle  Pit — The  Labyrinth — Louisa's  Dome — Gorin's  Dome — 
Bottomless  Pit — Separation  of  our  Party. 

On  being  summoned  to  breakfast  the  next 
morning,  we  ascertained  that  a  large  party  of 
ladies  and  gentlemen  had  arrived  during  our 
absence,  who,  like  ourselves,  were  prepared  to 
enter  the  Cave.  They,  however,  were  for  hur- 
rying over  the  rivers,  to  the  distant  points  be- 
yond— we,  for  examining  leisurely  the  avenues 
on  this  side.  At  8  o'clock,  both  parties  accom- 
panied by  their  respective  guides  and  making  a 
very  formidable  array,  set  out  from  the  hotel,  hap- 
py in  the  anticipation  of  the  "sights  to  be  seen." 
It  was  amusing  to  hear  the  remarks,  and  to 
witness  the  horror  of  some  of  the  party  on  first 
beholding  the  mouth  of  the  Cave.     Oh!  it  is  so 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  59 

frightful! — It  is  so  cold! — I  cannot  go  in  !  Not- 
withstanding all  this,  curiosity  prevailed,  and 
down  we  went — arranged  our  lamps,  which 
being  extinguished  in  passing  through  the  door- 
way by  the  strong  current  of  air  rushing  out- 
wards, there  arose  such  a  clamor,  such  laughter, 
such  screaming,  such  crying  out  for  the  guides, 
as  though  all  Bedlam  had  broke  loose, — the 
guides  exerting  themselves  to  quiet  apprehen- 
sions, and  the  visiters  of  yesterday  knowing  that 
there  was  neither  danger  nor  just  cause  of  alarm, 
doing  their  utmost  to  counteract  their  efforts,  by 
well  feigned  exclamations  of  terror.  At  length  the 
lamps  w  ere  re-lighted  and  order  being  restored, 
onward  we  went.  The  Vestibule  and  Church 
were  each  in  turn  illuminated,  to  the  enthusiastic 
delight  of  all — even  those  of  the  party,  who 
were  but  now  so  terrified,  were  loud  in  their 
expressions  of  admiration  and  wonder.  Arrived 
at  the  Giant's  Coffin,  we  leave  the  Main  Cave 
to  enter  regions  very  dissimilar  to  those  we  have 
seen.  A  narrow  passage  behind  the  Coffin 
leads  to  a  circular  room,  one  hundred  feet  in  di- 
ameter, with  a  low  roof,  called  the  Wooden 
Bowl,  in  allusion  to  its  figure,  or  as  some  say, 


60  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

from  a  wooden  bowl  having  been  found  here  by 
some  old  mmer.  This  Bowl  is  the  vestibule  of 
the  Deserted  Chambers.  On  the  right,  are  the 
Steeps  of  Time,  (why  so  called  we  are  left  to 
conjecture,)  down  which, descending  about  twen- 
ty feet,  and  almost  perpendicularly  for  the  first 
ten,  we  enter  the  Deserted  Chambers,  which  in 
their  course  present  features  extremely  wild, 
terrific  and  multiform.  For  two  hundred  yards 
the  ceiling  as  you  advance  is  rough  and  broken, 
but  further  on,  it  is  w  aving,  white  and  smooth 
as  if  worn  by  water.  At  Richardson's  Spring, 
the  imprint  of  moccasins  and  of  children's  feet, 
of  some  by-gone  age,  were  recently  seen.  There 
are  more  pits  in  the  Deserted  Chambers  than 
in  any  other  portion  of  the  Cave;  and  among 
the  most  noted  are  the  Covered  Pit,  the  Side- 
Saddle  Pit  and  the  Bottomless  Pit.  Indeed  the 
whole  range  of  these  chambers,  is  so  interrupted 
by  pits,  and  throughout  is  so  irregular  and  ser- 
pentine and  so  bewildering  from  the  number  of 
its  branches,  that  the  visiter,  doubtful  of  his  foot- 
ing, and  uncertain  as  to  his  course,  is  soon  made 
sensible  of  the  prudence  of  the  regulation,  which 
enjoins  him,  "not  to  leave  the  guide."     "The 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  61 

Covered  Pit  is  in  a  little  branch  to  the  left ; 
this  pit  is  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  in  diameter, 
covered  with  a  thin  rock,  around  which  a  nar- 
row crevice  extends,  leaving  only  a  small  sup- 
port on  one  side.  There  is  a  large  rock  resting 
on  the  centre  of  the  cover.  The  sound  of  a 
waterfall  may  be  heard  from  the  pit  but  cannot 
be  seen."  The  Side-Saddle  Pit  is  about  twenty 
feet  long  and  eight  feet  wide,  with  a  margin 
about  three  feet  high,  and  extending  lengthwise 
ten  feet,  against  which  one  may  safely  lean,  and 
view  the  interior  of  the  pit  and  dome.  After  a 
short  walk  from  this  place,  we  came  to  a  ladder 
on  our  right,  which  conducted  us  down  about 
fifteen  feet  into  a  narrow  pass,  not  more  than 
five  feet  wide;  this  pass  is  the  Labyrinth,  one  end 
of  which  leads  to  the  Bottomless  Pit,  entering  it 
about  fifty  feet  down,  and  the  other  after  va- 
rious windings,  now  up,  now  down,  over  a 
bridge,  and  up  and  down  ladders,  conducts  you 
to  one  of  the  chief  glories  of  the  Cave,  —  Gorin's 
Dome ;  which,  strange  to  tell,  was  not  discover- 
ed until  a  few  years  ago.  Immediately  behind 
the  ladder,  there  is  a  narrow  opening  in  the 
rock,  extending  up  very  nearly  to  the  cave  above, 
5* 


62  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

which  leads  about  twenty  feet  back  to  Louisa's 
Dome,  a  pretty  httle  place  of  not  more  than 
twelve  feet  in  diameter,  but  of  twice  that  height. 
This  dome  is  directly  under  the  centre  of  the 
cave  we  had  just  been  traversing,  and  when 
lighted  up,  persons  within  it  can  be  plainly  seen 
from  above,  through  a  crevice  in  the  rock.  Ar- 
rived at  Gorin's  Dome,  we  were  forcibly  struck 
by  the  seeming  appearance  of  design,  in  the 
arrangement  of  the  several  parts,  for  the  special 
accommodation  of  visiters  —  even  with  reference 
to  their  number.  The  Labyrinth,  which  we 
followed  up,  brought  us  at  its  termination,  to  a 
window  or  hole,  about  four  feet  square,  three 
feet  above  the  floor,  opening  into  the  interior 
of  the  dome,  about  midway  between  the  bottom 
and  top ;  the  wall  of  rock  being  at  this  spot, 
not  more  than  eighteen  inches  thick ;  and  con- 
tinuing around,  and  on  the  outside  of  the  dome, 
along  a  gallery  of  a  few  feet  in  width,  for  twenty 
or  more  paces,  we  arrived  at  another  opening 
of  much  larger  size,  ehgibly  disposed,  and  com- 
manding, like  the  first,  a  view  of  very  nearly  the 
whole  interior  space.  Whilst  we  are  arranging 
ourselves,  the  guide  steals  away,  passes  down, 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  63 

down,  one  knows  not  how,  and  is  presently 
seen  by  the  dim  hght  of  his  lamp,  fifty  feet  below, 
standing  near  the  wall  on  the  inside  of  the  dome. 
The  dome  is  of  sohd  rock,  with  sides  apparently 
fluted  and  polished,  and  perhaps  two  hundred 
feet  high.  Immediately  in  front  and  about  thirty 
feet  from  the  \Aindov,',  a  huge  rock  seems  sus- 
pended from  above  and  arranged  in  folds  like  a 
curtain.  Here  w^e  are  then,  the  guide  fifty  feet 
below  us.  Some  of  the  party  thrusting  their 
heads  and,  in  their  anxiety  to  see,  their  bodies 
through  the  window  into  the  vast  and  gloomy 
dome  of  two  hundred  feet  in  height.  The  win- 
dow is  not  large  enough  to  afford  a  view  to  all 
at  once,  they  crowd  one  on  the  top  of  the  other ; 
the  more  cautious,  and  those  who  do  not  like 
to  be  squeezed,  stand  back ;  but  still  holding  fast 
to  the  garments  of  their  friends  for  fear  they 
might  in  the  ecstasy  of  their  feelings,  leap  into  the 
frightful  abyss  into  which  they  are  looking.  Sud- 
denly the  guide  ignites  a  Bengal  ligliL  The 
vast  dome  is  radiant  with  light.  Above,  as  far 
as  the  eye  can  reach,  are  seen  the  shining  sides  of 
the  fluted  walls ;  below,  the  yawning  gulf  is  ren- 
dered  the  more  terrific,  by  the  pallid  light  ex- 


64  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

posing  to  view  its  vast  depth,  tiie  whole  dis- 
playing a  scene  of  sublimity  and  splendor,  such 
as  words  have  not  power  to  describe.  Return- 
ing, we  ascended  the  ladder  near  Louisa's  Dome, 
and  continued  on,  having  the  Labyrinth  on  our 
right  side  until  it  terminates  in  the  Bottomless 
Pit.  This  pit  terminates  also  the  range  of  the 
Deserted  Chambers,  and  was  considered  the  Ul- 
tima Thule  of  all  explorers,  until  within  the  last 
few  years,  when  Mr.  Stephenson  of  Georgetown, 
Ky.  and  the  intrepid  guide,  Stephen,  conceived 
the  idea  of  reaching  the  opposite  side  by  throw- 
ing a  ladder  across  the  frightful  chasm.  This 
they  accomplished,  and  on  this  ladder,  extend- 
ing across  a  chasm  of  twenty  feet  wide  and 
near  two  hundred  deep,  did  these  daring  explor- 
ers cross  to  the  opposite  side,  and  thus  open  the 
way  to  all  those  splendid  discoveries,  which 
have  added  so  much  to  the  value  and  renown  of 
the  Mammoth  Cave.  The  Bottomless  Pit  is 
somewhat  in  the  shape  of  a  horse-shoe,  having 
a  tongue  of  land  twenty  seven  feet  long,  running 
out  into  the  middle  of  it.  From  the  end  of  this 
point  of  land,  a  substantial  bridge  has  been 
thrown  across  to  the  cave  on  the  opposite  side. 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  65 

While  standing  on  the  bridge,  the  guide  lets 
down  a  lighted  paper  into  the  deep  abyss ;  it 
descends  twisting  and  turning,  lower  and  lower, 
and  is  soon  lost  in  total  darkness,  leaving  us  to 
conjecture,  as  to  what  may  be  below.  Crossing 
the  bridge  to  the  opposite  cave,  we  find  ourselves 
in  the  midst  of  rocks  of  the  most  gigantic  size 
lying  along  the  edge  of  the  pit  and  on  our  left 
hand.  Above  the  pit  is  a  dome  of  great  size,  but 
which,  from  its  position,  few^  have  seen.  Pro- 
ceeding along  a  narrow  passage  for  some  distance, 
we  arrived  at  the  point  from  which  diverge 
two  noted  routes — the  Winding  Way  and  Pen- 
sico  Avenue.  Here  we  called  a  short  halt ;  then 
wishing  our  newly  formed  acquintances  a  safe 
voyage  over  the  "  deep  waters, "  we  parted ; 
they  taking  the  left  hand  to  the  Winding  Way 
and  the  rivers,  and  we  the  right  to  Pensico 
Avenue. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Pensico  Avenue — Great  Crossings — Pine  Apple  Bush — Angelica's  Grotto 
— Winding  Way — Fat  Friend  in  Trouble — Relief  Hall — Bacon  Cham- 
ber— Bandit's  Hall. 

Pensico  Avenue  averages  about  fifty  feet  in 
width,  with  a  height  of  about  thirty  feet ;  and 
is  said  to  be  two  miles  long.  It  unites  in  an 
eminent  degree  the  truly  beautiful  with  the 
sublime,  and  is  highly  interesting  throughout 
its  entire  extent.  For  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from 
the  entrance,  the  roof  is  beautifully  arched,  about 
twelve  feet  high  and  sixty  wide,  and  formerly 
was  encrusted  with  rosettes  and  other  formations, 
nearly  all  of  which  have  been  taken  away  or 
demolished,  leaving  this  section  of  the  Cave 
quite  denuded.  The  walking  here  is  excellent ; 
a  dozen  persons  might  run  abreast  for  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  to  Bunyan's  Way,  a  branch  of  the 
avenue,  leading  on  to  the  river.  At  this  point 
the  avenue   changes  its  features  of  beauty  and 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  67 

regularity,  for  those  of  wild  grandeur  and  sub- 
limity, which  it  preserves  to  the  end.  The  way, 
no  longer  smooth  and  level,  is  fi'equently  inter- 
rupted and  turned  aside  by  huge  rocks,  which 
lie  tumbled  around,  in  all  imaginable  disorder. 
The  roof  now  becomes  very  lofty  and  imposingly 
magnificent ;  its  long,  pointed  or  lancet  arches, 
forcibly  reminding  you  of  the  rich  and  gorgeous 
ceilings  of  the  old  Gothic  Cathedrals,  at  the 
same  time  solemnly  impressing  you  with  the 
conviction  that  this  is  a  "building  not  made  with 
hands."  No  one,  not  dead  to  ail  the  more 
refined  sensibilities  of  our  nature,  but  must  ex- 
claim, in  beholding  the  sublime  scenes  which 
here  present  themselves,  this  is  not  the  work  of 
man  !  No  one  can  be  herb  without  being  remind- 
ed of  the  all  pervading  presence  of  the  great 
''Father  of  all." 

"What,  but  God,  pervades,  adjusts  and  agitates  the  whole!  " 

Not  far  from  the  point  at  which  the  avenue 
assumes  the  rugged  features,  which  now  char- 
acterize it,  we  separated  from  our  guide,  he 
continuing  his  straight-forward  course,  and  we 
descending  gradually  a  few  feet  and  entering  a 


68  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

tunnel  of  fifteen  feet  wide  on  our  left,  the  ceiling 
twelve  or  fourteen  feet  high,  perfectly  arched 
and  beautifully  covered  with  white  incrustations, 
very  soon  reached  the  Great  Crossings.  Here 
the  guide  jumped  down  some  six  or  eight  feet 
from  the  avenue  which  we  had  left,  into  the 
tunnel  where  we  were  standing,  and  crossing  it, 
climbed  up  into  the  avenue,  which  he  pursued 
for  a  short  distance  or  until  it  united  with  the 
tunnel,  where  he  again  joined  us.  In  separating 
from,  then  crossing,  and  again  uniting  with  the 
avenue,  it  describes  with  it  something  like  the 
figure  8.  The  name,  Great  Crossings,  is  not 
unapt.  It  was  however,  not  given,  as  our 
intelligent  guide  veritably  assured  us,  in  honor 
of  the  Great  Crossings  where  the  man  lives  who 
killed  Tecumseh,  but  because  two  great  caves 
cross  here;  and  moreover  said  he,  "the  valiant 
Colonel  ought  to  change  the  name  of  his  place, 
as  no  two  places  in  a  State  should  bear  the 
same  name,  and  this  being  the  gi'eat  place  ought 
to  have  the  preference." 

Not  very  far  from  this  point,  we  ascended  a 
hill  on  our  left,  and  walking  a  short  distance 
over  our  shoe-tops   in   dry  nitrous   earth,  in   a 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  69 

direction  somewhat  at  a  right  angle  with  the 
avenue  below,  we  arrived  at  the  Pine  Apple 
Bush,  a  large  column,  composed  of  a  white, 
soft,  crumbling  material,  with  bifurcations  ex- 
tending from  the  floor  to  the  ceiling.  At  a  short 
distance,  either  to  the  right  or  left,  you  have 
a  fine  view  of  the  avenue  some  twenty  feet 
below,  both  up  and  down.  Why  this  crumbling 
stalactite  is  called  the  Pine  Apple  Bush,  I  can- 
not divine.  It  stands  however  in  a  charming, 
secluded  spot,  inviting  to  repose ;  and  we  luxu- 
riated in  inhaling  the  all-inspiring  air,  while 
reclining  on  the  clean,  soft  and  dry  salt  petre 
earth. 

All  lovers  of  romantic  scenery  ought  to 
visit  this  avenue,  and  all  dyspeptic  hypochon- 
driacs and  love-sick  despondents  should  do 
likewise,  for  there  is  something  wonderfully  ex- 
hilarating in  the  air  of  Pensico.  Our  friend 
B,  remarked  while  rolling  on  the  salt  petre  earth 
at  the  Pine  Apple  Bush,  that  he  felt  "  especially 
happy,"  and  whether  from  sympathy,  air  or 
what  not,  we  all  partook  of  the  same  feeling. 
The  guide  seeing  the  position  of  our  fat  friend, 
and  hearing  his  remark,  said,  laughing  most 
6 


70  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

immoderately,  "these  sort  of  feelings  would 
come  over  one,  now  and  then  in  the  Cave,  but 
wait  till  you  get  in  the  Winding  Way  and  see 
how  you  feel  then. " 

Having  descended  into  the  avenue  we  had 
left,  we  passed  a  number  of  stalactites  and 
stalagmites,  bearing  a  remarkable  resemblance 
to  coral,  and  a  hundred  or  more  paces  beyond, 
arrived  at  a  recess  on  the  left,  lined  with  imiu- 
merable  crystals  of  dog-tooth  spar,  shining  most 
brilliantly,  called  Angelica's  Grotto.  One  would 
think  it  almost  sacrilege  to  deface  a  spot  like 
this;  yet,  did  a  Clergyman  (the  back  of  the 
guide  being  turned,)  deliberately  demolish  a 
number  of  beautifid  crystals  to  inscribe  the  in- 
itials of  his  name. 

Returning  to  the  head  of  Pensico  Avenue, 
we  turned  to  our  right,  and  entered  the  narrow 
pass  which  leads  to  the  river,  pursuing  which, 
for  a  few  hundred  yards,  descending  all  the 
while,  at  one  or  two  places  down  a  ladder  or 
stone  steps,  we  came  to  a  path  cut  through  a 
high  and  broad  embankment  of  sand,  which  very 
soon  conducted  us  to  the  much  talked  of  and 
anxiouslv    looked    for    Windinc;    Way.      The 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  71 

Winding  Way,  has,  in  the  opinion  of  many, 
been  channeled  in  the  rock  by  the  gradual  attri- 
tion of  water.  If  this  be  so,  and  appearances 
seem  to  support  such  belief,  at  what  early  age 
of  the  world  did  the  work  commence?  Was  it 
not  when  "the  earth  was  without  form  and 
void,"  thousands  of  years  perhaps,  before  the 
date  of  the  Mosaic  account  of  the  Creation? 
The  Winding  Way  is  one  hundred  and  five  feet 
long,  eighteen  inches  wide,  and  from  three  to 
seven  feet  deep,  widening  out  above,  sufficiently 
to  admit  the  free  use  of  one's  arms.  It  is 
throughout  tortuous,  a  perfect  zig-zag,  the  terror 
of  the  Falstaffs  and  the  ladies  of  "fat,  fair  and 
forty,"  who  have  an  instinctive  dread  of  the  trials 
to  come,  and  are  well  aware  of  the  merriment  that 
their  efforts  to  force  a  passage  will  excite  among 
their  companions  of  less  length  of  girdle.  Into 
this  winding  way,  we  entered  in  Indian  file,  and 
turning  our  right  side,  then  our  left,  twisting  this 
way,  then  that,  had  nearly  made  good  the  pas- 
sage, when  our  fat  friend,  who  was  puffing 
and  blowing  behind  us  like  a  high  pressure  engine, 
cried  out,  "Halt,  ahead  there!  I  am  stuck  as 
tight  as  a  wedge  in  a  log ! "     Halt  we  did,  when 


72  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

the  guide,  looking  at  our  friend,  who  was  in  truth 
"wedg'd  in  the  rocky  way  and  sticking  fast," 
cried  out,  "I  told  you,  when  you  said  at  the 
Pine  Apple  Bush,  that  you  felt  especially  hajipy, 
to  wait  till  you  got  to  the  Winding  Way,  to  see 
how  you  would  feel  then!"  The  imprisoned 
gentleman  soon  burst  his  bonds,  not,  however, 
without  damage  to  his  indispensables ;  and  at 
length  forcing  his  way  into  Relief  Hall,  he  cried 
out,  in  the  joy  of  his  heart,  while  stretching 
himself  and  wiping  the  perspiration  from  his 
jolly,  rubicund  face,  "never  was  a  name  more 
appropriate  given  to  any  place  —  Rehef.  I  feel 
already  the  eximnswe  faculty  of  the  atmosphere, 
I  can  now  breathe  again." 

Relief  Hall,  which  you  enter  h'om  the  Wind- 
ing Way,  at  a  right-angle,  is  very  wide  and  lofty 
but  not  long ;  turning  to  the  right,  we  reached 
its  termination  at  River  Hall,  a  distance  of  per- 
haps, one  hundred  yards  Here  two  routes  pre- 
sent themselves ;  the  one  to  the  left  conducts  to 
the  Dead  Sea  and  the  Rivers,  and  that  to  the 
right,  to  the  Bacon  Chamber,  the  Bandit's  Hall, 
the  Mammoth  Home  and  an  infinity  of  other 
caves,  domes,  etc.     We  will  speak  of  the  Bacon 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  73 

Chamber ;  but  before  doing  so,  let  us  take  our 
lunch.  The  air  or  exercise,  or  probably  both, 
acted  as  powerful  appetizers,  and  we  soon  gave 
proof  that  we  needed  not  Stoughton's  bitters  to 
provoke  an  appetite.  Having  discussed  a  few 
glasses  of  excellent  Hock,  we  left  the  Bacon 
Chamber,  which  is  a  pretty  fair  representation 
of  a  low  ceiHng,  thickly  hung  with  canvassed 
hams  and  shoulders ;  and  proceeded  to  the 
Bandit's  Hall,  up  a  steep  ascent  of  twenty  or 
thirty  feet,  rendered  very  difficult,  by  the  huge 
rocks  which  obstructed  the  way  and  over  w  hicli 
we  were  forced  to  clamber.  The  name  is  indic- 
ative of  the  spot.  It  is  a  vast  and  lofty  chamber, 
the  floor  covered  with  a  mountainous  heap  of 
rocks  rising  amphitheatrically  almost  to  the 
ceiling,  and  so  disposed  as  to  ftirnish  at  different 
elevations,  galleries  or  platforms,  reaching  im- 
mediately around  the  chamber  itself  or  leading 
off  into  some  of  its  hidden  recesses.  The  guide 
is  presently  seen  standing  at  a  fearftil  height 
above,  and  suddenly  a  Bengal  light,  blazes  up, 
"when  the  rugged  roof,  the  ft'owning  cliffs 
and  the  whole  chaos  of  rocks  are  reftilgent  in  the 
brilUant  glare."  The  sublimity  of  the  scene  is 
beyond  the  powers  of  the  imagination. 
6* 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Mammoth  Dome — Firpt  Discoverers — Little  Dome — Tale   of  a  Lamp — 
Rcluni. 

From  the  Bandit's  Hall,  diverge  two  caves ; 
one  of  which,  the  left,  leads  you  to  a  multitude 
of  domes ;  and  the  right,  to  one  which,  jmi'  ex- 
cellence, is  called  the  Mammoth  Dome.  Taking 
the  right,  we  arrived,  after  a  rugged  walk  of 
nearly  a  mile,  to  a  platform,  which  commands 
an  indistinct  view  of  this  dome  of  domes.  It 
was  discovered  by  a  German  gentleman  and  the 
guide  Stephen  about  two  years  ago,  but  was  not 
explored  until  some  months  after,  when  it  w^as 
visited  by  a  party  of  four  or  five,  accompanied 
by  two  guides,  and  well  prepared  with  ropes,  &c. 
From  the  platform,  the  guides  were  let  dow^n 
about  twenty  feet,  by  means  of  a  rope,  and  upon 
reaching  the  ground  below%  they  found  them- 
selves on  the  side  of  a  hill,  which,  descending 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  75 

about  fifty  feet,  brought  them  imuiediately  under 
the  Great  Dome,  from  the  summit  of  which, 
there  is  a  water-fall.  This  dome  is  near  four 
hundred  feet  high,  and  is  justly  considered  one 
of  the  most  sublime  and  wonderful  spectacles  of 
this  most  wonderful  of  caverns.  From  the  bot- 
tom of  the  dome  they  ascended  the  hill  to  the 
place  to  which  they  had  been  lowered  from  the 
platform,  and  continuing  thence  up  a  very  steep 
hill,  more  than  one  hundred  feet,  they  reached 
its  summit.  Arrived  at  the  summit,  a  scene  of 
awful  grandeur  and  magnificence  is  presented  to 
the  view.  Looking  down  the  declivity,  you  see 
far  below^  to  the  left,  the  visiters  wiiom  you  have 
left  behind,  standing  on  the  platform  or  termina- 
tion of  the  avenue  along  which  they  had  come ; 
and  lower  down  still,  the  bottom  of  the  Great 
Dome  itself.  Above,  t^^o  hundred  and  eighty 
feet,  is  the  ceiling,  lost  in  the  obscurity  of  space 
and  distance.  The  height  of  the  ceihng  was 
determined  l)y  E.  F.  Lee,  civil  engineer.  This 
fact  in  regard  to  the  elevation  of  the  ceiling  and 
the  locality  of  the  Great  Hall,  was  subsequently 
ascertained,  by  finding  on  the  summit  of  the  hill, 
(a  spot  never  before  trodden  by  man,)  an   iron 


76  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

lamp ! !  The  astonishment  of  the  guides,  as 
well  as  of  the  whole  party,  on  beholding  the 
lamp,  can  be  easily  imagined ;  and  to  this  day 
they  would  have  been  ignorant  of  its  history,  but 
for  the  accidental  circumstance  of  an  old  man 
being  at  the  Cave  Hotel,  who,  thirty  years  ago, 
was  engaged  as  a  miner  in  the  saltpetre  estab- 
lishment of  Wilkins  &  Gratz.  He,  on  being 
shown  the  lamp,  said  at  once,  that  it  had  been 
found  under  the  crevice  pit  (a  fact  that  sur- 
prised all,);  that  during  the  time  Wilkins  & 
Gratz  were  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  salt- 
petre, a  Mr.  Gatewood  informed  Wilkins,  that 
in  all  probability,  the  richest  nitre  earth  was  un- 
der the  crevice  pit.  The  depth  of  this  pit  being 
then  unknown,  Wilkins,  to  ascertain  it,  got  a 
rope  of  45  feet  long,  and  fastening  this  identical 
lamp  to  the  end  of  it,  lowered  it  into  the  pit,  in 
the  doing  of  which,  the  string  caught  on  fire, 
and  down  fell  the  lamp.  AVilkins  made  an  offer 
of  two  dollars  to  any  one  of  the  miners  who 
would  descend  the  pit  and  bring  up  the  lamp. 
His  offer  was  accepted  by  a  man,  who,  in  con- 
sequence of  his  diminutive  stature,  was  nick- 
named Little  Dave ;  and  the  rope  being  made 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  77 

fast  about  his  waist,  he,  torch  in  hand,  was  low- 
ered to  the  full  extent  of  the  forty-five  feet.  Be- 
ing then  drawn  up,  the  poor  fellow  was  found 
to  be  so  excessively  alarmed,  that  he  could  scarce- 
ly articulate;  but  having  recovered  from  his  fright, 
and  again  with  the  full  power  of  utterance,  he 
declared  that  no  money  could  tempt  him  to  try 
again  for  the  lamp ;  and  in  excuse  for  such  a 
determination,  he  related  the  most  marvellous 
story  of  what  he  had  seen — far  exceeding  the 
wonderful  things  which  the  unexampled  Don 
Quixote  de  la  Mancha  declared  he  had  seen  in 
the  deep  cave  of  Montesinos.  Dave  was,  in 
fact,  suspended  at  the  height  of  two  hundred 
and  forty  feet  above  the  level  below.  Such  is 
the  history  of  the  lamp,  as  told  by  the  old  miner, 
Holton,  the  correctness  of  which  was  very  soon 
verified ;  for  guides  having  been  sent  to  the 
place  where  the  lamp  was  found,  and  persons 
at  the  same  time  stationed  at  the  mouth  of  the 
crevice  pit,  their  proximity  was  at  once  made 
manifest  by  the  very  audible  sound  of  each 
other's  voices,  and  by  the  fact  that  sticks  thrown 
into  the  pit  fell  at  the  feet  of  the  guides  below, 
and  were  brought  out  by  them.     The  distance 


78  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

from  the  mouth  of  the  Cave  to  this  pit,  falls  short 
of  half  a  mile ;  yet  to  reach  the  grand  apartment 
immediately  under  it,  requires  a  circuit  to  be 
made  of  at  least  three  miles.  The  illumination 
of  that  portion  of  the  Great  Dome  on  the  left, 
and  of  the  hall  on  the  top  of  the  hill  to  the  right, 
as  seen  from  the  platform,  was  unquestionably 
one  of  the  most  impressive  spectacles  we  had 
witnessed ;  but  to  be  seen  to  advantage,  another 
position  ought  to  be  taken  by  the  spectator,  and 
the  dome  with  its  towering  height,  and  the  hall 
on  the  summit  of  the  hill,  with  its  gigantic  sta- 
lagmite columns,  and  ceiling  two  hundred  feet 
high,  illuminated  by  the  simultaneous  ignition  of 
a  number  of  Bengal  hghts,  judiciously  arranged. 
Such  was  the  enthusiastic  admiration  of  some 
foreigners  on  witnessing  an  illumination  of  the 
Great  Dome  and  Hall,  that  they  declared,  it  alone 
would  compensate  for  a  voyage  across  the 
iVtlantic.  With  the  partial  illumination  of  the 
Great  Dome,  we  closed  our  explorations  on  this 
side  of  the  rivers,  and  retracing  our  steps,  reached 
the  hotel  about  sun-set.  At  mid-night,  the  party 
which  separated  from  us  at  the  entrance  of  Pen- 
sico  Avenue,  returned  h'om  the  points  beyond 
the  Echo  river. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Third  Visit— River  Hall— Dead  Sea— River  Styx— Lethe— Echo  River— 
Purgatorj-- Eyeless  Fish— Supposed  Boil  of  the  Rivers— Sources  and 
Outlet  Unknown. 

Early  the  next  morning,  having  made  all  the 
necessary  preparations  for  the  grand  tour,  which 
we  were  the  more  anxious  to  take  from  the  glow- 
ing accounts  of  the  party  recently  returned,  we 
entered  the  cave  immediately  after  an  early  break- 
fast, and  proceeded  rapidly  on  to  River  Hall.  It 
was  evident  from  the  appearance  of  the  flood 
here,  that  it  had  been  recently  overflown. 

"  The  cave,  or  the  River  Hall,"  remarks  a 
fair  and  distinguished  authoress,  whose  descrip- 
tion of  the  river  scenery  is  so  graphic,  that  I 
cannot  do  better  than  transcribe  it  throughout: 
"  The  River  Hall  descends  like  the  slope  of  a 
mountain ;  the  ceihng  stretches  away — away  be- 
fore you,  vast  and  grand  as  the  firmament  at  mid- 
night."    Going  on,  and  gradually  ascending  and 


80  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

keeping  close  to  the  right  hand  wall,  you  observe 
on  your  left  "  a  steep  precipice,  over  which  you 
can  look  down  by  the  aid  of  blazing  missiles,  upon 
a  broad  black  sheet  of  water,  eighty  feet  below, 
called  the  Dead  Sea.  This  is  an  awfully  im- 
pressive place  ;  the  sights  and  sounds  of  which, 
do  not  easily  pass  from  memory.  He  who  has 
seen  it,  will  have  it  vividly  brought  before  him, 
by  Alfieri's  description  of  Filippo,  '  only  a  tran- 
sient word  or  act  gives  us  a  short  and  dubious 
glimmer,  that  reveals  to  us  the  abysses  of  his  be- 
ing— dark,  lurid  and  terrific,  as  the  throat  of  the 
infernal  pool.'  Descending  from  the  eminence, 
by  a  ladder  of  about  twenty  feet,  we  find  our- 
selves among  piles  of  gigantic  rocks,  "  and  one 
of  the  most  picturesque  sights  in  the  world,  is 
to  see  a  file  of  men  and  women  passing  along 
those  wild  and  scraggy  paths,  moving  slowly — 
slowly,  that  their  lamps  may  have  time  to  illu- 
minate their  sky-like  ceiling  and  gigantic  walls — 
disappearing  behind  high  cliffs — sinking  into  ra- 
vines— their  lights  shining  upwards  through  fis- 
sures in  the  rocks — then  suddenly  emerging  from 
some  abrupt  angle,  standing  in  the  bright  gleam 
of  their  lamps,  relieved  by  the   towering  black 


J 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  81 

masses  around  them.  He,  who  could  paint  the 
infinite  variety  of  creation,  can  alone  give  an 
adequate  idea  of  this  marvellous  region.  As  you 
pass  along,  you  hear  the  roar  of  invisible  water- 
falls ;  and  at  the  foot  of  the  slope,  the  river  Styx 
hes  before  you,  deep  and  black,  overarched  with 
rock.  The  first  glimpse  of  it  brings  to  mind, 
the  descent  of  Ulysses  into  hell, 

"  W^here  tlie  dark  rock  o'erhaugs  the  infernal  lake, 
And  mingling  streams  eternal  murmurs  make." 

Across  (or  rather  down)  these  unearthly  waters, 
the  guide  can  convey  but  four  passengers  at  once. 
The  lamps  are  fastened  to  the  prow ;  the  im- 
ages of  which,  are  reflected  in  the  dismal  pool. 
If  you  are  impatient  of  delay,  or  eager  for  new- 
adventures,  you  can  leave  your  companions  lin- 
gering about  the  shore,  and  cross  the  Styx 
by  a  dangerous  bridge  of  precipices  overhead. 
In  order  to  do  this,  you  must  ascend  a  steep  chff, 
and  enter  a  cave  above,  300  yards  long,  from  an 
egress  of  which,  you  find  yourself  on  the  bank 
of  the  river,  eighty  feet  above  its  surface,  com- 
manding a  view  of  those  in  the  boat,  and  those 
waiting  on  the  shore.      Si'on   from  this  height, 


82  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

the  lamps  in  the  canoe  glare  hke  fiery  eye-balls; 
and  the  passengers,  sitting  there  so  hushed  and 
motionless,  look  hke  shadows.  The  scene  is  so 
strangely  funereal  and  spectral,  that  it  seems  as 
if  the  Greeks  must  have  witnessed  it,  before 
they  imagined  Charon  conveying  ghosts  to  the 
dim  regions  of  Pluto.  Your  companions  thus 
seen,  do  indeed — 

"  Skim  along  the  dusky  glades, 

Thin  airj-  souls,  and  visionary  shades.'' 

If  you  turn  your  eyes  from  the  canoe  to  the  par- 
ties of  men  and  women  whom  you  left  waiting 
on  the  shore,  you  will  see  them  by  the  gleam  of 
their  lamps,  scattered  in  picturesque  groups,  loom- 
ing out  in  bold  relief  from  the  dense  darkness 
around  them." 

Having  passed  the  Styx,  (much  the  smallest  of 
the  rivers,)  you  walk  over  a  pile  of  large  rocks,  and 
are  on  the  banks  of  Lethe ;  and  looking  back:,  you 
will  see  a  line  of  men  and  women  descending  the 
high  hill  from  the  cave,  which  runs  over  the  river 
Styx.  Here  are  two  boats,  and  the  parties, 
which  have  come  by  the  two  routes,  down  the 
Styx  or  o\^er  it,  uniting,  descend  the  Lethe  about 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  83 

a  quarter  of  a  mile,  the  ceiling  for  the  entire  dis- 
tance being  very  high — certainly  not  less  than 
fifty  feet.  On  landing,  you  enter  a  level  and 
lofty  hall,  called  the  Great  Walk,  which  stretches 
to  the  banks  of  the  Echo,  a  distance  of  three 
or  four  hundred  yards.  The  Echo  is  truly 
a  river:  it  is  wide  and  deep  enough,  at  all 
times,  to  float  the  largest  steamer.  At  the  point 
of  embarkation,  the  arch  is  very  low,  not  more 
than  three  feet,  in  an  ordinary  stage  of  water, 
being  left  for  a  boat  to  pass  through.  Passen- 
gers, of  course,  are  obliged  to  double  up,  and  lie 
upon  each  others  shoulders,  in  a  most  uncom- 
fortable way,  but  their  suffering  is  of  short  dura- 
tion ;  in  two  boat  lengths,  they  emerge  to  where 
the  vault  of  the  cave  is  lofty  and  wide.  The 
boat  in  which  we  embarked  was  sufficiently 
large  to  carry  twelve  persons,  and  our  voyage 
down  the  river  was  one  of  deep,  indeed  of  most 
intense  interest.  The  novelty,  the  grandeur,  the 
magnificence  of  every  thing  around  elicited  un- 
bounded admiration  and  wonder.  All  sense  of 
danger,  (had  any  been  experienced  before,)  was 
lost  in  the  solemn,  quiet  sublimity  of  the  scene. 


84  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

The  rippling  of  the  water  caused  by  the  motion 
of  our  boat  is  heard  afar  off,  beating  under  the 
low  arches  and  in  the  cavities  of  the  rocks.  The 
report  of  a  pistol  is  as  that  of  the  heaviest  artil- 
lery, and  long  and  afar  does  the  echo  resound, 
like  the  muttering  of  distant  thunder.  The 
voice  of  song  was  raised  on  this  dark,  deep  wa- 
ter, and  the  sound  was  as  that  of  the  most  pow- 
erful choir.  A  fidl  band  of  music  on  this  river 
of  echoes  would  indeed  be  overpowering.  The 
aquatic  excursion  was  more  to  our  taste  than 
any  thing  we  had  seen,  and  never  can  the  im- 
pression it  made  be  obliterated  from  our  memo- 
ries. 

The  Echo  is  three  quarters  of  a  mile  long.  A 
rise  of  the  water  of  merely  a  few  feet  connects 
the  three  rivers.  After  long  and  heavy  rains, 
these  rivers  sometimes  rise  to  a  perpendicular 
height  of  more  than  fifty  feet ;  and  then  they,  as 
well  as  the  cataracts,  exhibit  a  most  terrific  ap- 
pearance. The  low  arch  at  the  entrance  of  the 
Echo,  can  not  be  passed  when  there  is  a  rise 
of  water  of  even  two  feet.  Once  or  twice  par- 
ties have  been  caught  on  the  further  side  by  a 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  bo 

sudden  rise,  and  for  a  time  their  alarm  was  great, 
not  knowing  that  there  was  an  upper  cave 
through  which  they  could  pass,  that  would  lead 
them  around  the  arch  to  the  Great  Walk.  This 
upper  cave,  or  passage,  is  called  Purgatory,  and 
is,  for  a  distance  of  forty  feet,  so  low,  that  per- 
sons have  to  crawl  on  their  faces,  or,  as  the 
guides  say,  snake  it.  We  were  pleased  to  learn 
that  this  passage  would  soon  be  sufficiently  en- 
larged to  enable  persons  to  walk  through  erect. 
This  accomphshed,  an  excursion  to  Cleveland's 
Avenue  may  be  made  almost  entirely  by  land, 
at  the  same  time  that  all  apprehensions  of  being 
caught  beyond  Echo  will  be  removed.  It  is  in 
these  rivers,  that  the  extraordinary  white  eye- 
less fish  are  caught — we  secured  two  of  them. 
There  is  not  the  slightest  indication  of  an  organ 
similar  to  an  eye,  to  be  discovered.  They  have 
been  dissected  by  skillful  anatomists,  who  de- 
clare that  they  are  not  only  Avithout  eyes,  but 
also  develope  other  anomalies  in  their  organiza- 
tion, singularly  interesting  to  the  naturalist.  "The 
rivers  of  Mammoth  Cave  were  never  crossed 
till  1840.  Great  efforts  have  been  made  to  dis- 
cover whence  they  come  and  whither  they  go, 
7* 


86  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

yet  they  still  remain  as  much  a  mystery  as  ever 
— without  beginning  or  end  ;  like  eternity." 

'•  Darkly  ihou  glidest  onward, 

Thou  deep  and  hidden  wave ! 
Tlie  laughing  sunshine  hath  not  look'd 

Into  thy  secret  cave. 

Thy  current  makes  no  music — 

A  hollow  sound  we  hear  ; 
A  muffled  voice  of  mystery, 

Arid  know  that  thou  art  near. 

No  brighter  line  of  verdure 

Follows  thy  lonely  way 
No  fairy  moss,  or  lily's  cup, 

Is  freshened  by  thy  play." 

According  to  the  barometrical  measurement 
of  Professor  Locke,  the  rivers  of  the  Cave  are 
nearly  on  a  level  with  Green  River ;  but  the  re- 
port of  Mr.  Lee,  civil  engineer,  is  Avidely  differ- 
ent. He  says,  "  The  bottom  of  the  Little  Bat 
Room  Pit  is  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  he- 
low  the  bed  of  Green  River.  The  Bottomless 
Pit  is  also  deeper  than  the  bed  of  Green  River, 
and  so  far  as  a  surveyor's  level  can  be  relied  on, 
the  same  may  be  said  of  the  Cavern  Pit  and 
some  others."  The  rivers  of  the  Cave  were  un- 
known at  the  time  of  Mr.  Lee's  visit  in  1835, 
but  they  are  unquestionably  lower  than  the  bot- 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  87 

torn  of  the  pits,  and  receive  the  water  which 
flows  from  tliem.  According  to  the  statement 
of  Lee,  the  bed  of  these  rivers  is  lower  than 
the  bed  of  Green  River  at  its  junction  with  the 
Ohio,  taking  for  granted  that  the  report  of  the 
State  engineers  as  to  the  extent  of  fall  between 
a  point  above  the  Cave  and  the  Ohio,  be  correct, 
of  which  there  is  no  doubt.  "It  becomes,  then," 
continues  Mr.  Lee,  in  reference  to  the  waters  of 
the  Cave,  "  an  object  of  interesting  inquiry  to 
determine  in  what  way  it  is  disposed  of  If  it 
empties  into  Green  River,  the  Ohio,  or  the  ocean, 
it  must  run  a  great  distance  under  ground,  with 
a  very  small  descent." 


CHAPTER  X. 

Pass  of  El  Ghor— Silliman's  Avenue — Wellington's  Gallery — Sulphur 
Spring — Mary's  Vineyai-d — Holy  Sepulchre — Commencement  of  Cleve- 
land Avenue — By  whom  Discovered — Beautiful  Formations — Snow-ball 
Room — Rocky  Mountains — Croghan's  Hall — Serena's  Arbor — Dining 
Table — Dinner  Party  and  Toast — Hoax  of  the  Guide — Homeward 
Bound  Passage — Conclusion. 

Having  now  left  the  Echo,  we  have  a  walk 
of  four  miles  to  Cleveland's  Avenue.  The  inter- 
vening points  are  of  great  interest ;  but  it  would 
occupy  too  much  time  to  describe  them.  We 
will  therefore  hurry  on  through  the  pass  of  El 
Ghor,  Silliman's  Avenue,  and  Wellington's  Gal- 
lery, to  the  foot  of  the  ladder  which  leads  up 
to  the  Elysium  of  Mammoth  cave.  And  here, 
for  the  benefit  of  the  weary  and  thirsty,  and  of 
all  others  whom  it  may  interest,  coming  after 
us,  be  it  known,  that  Carneal's  Spring  is  close 
at  hand,  and  equally  near,  a  sulphur  spring,  the 
water  of  which,  equals  in  quality  and  quantity 
that  of  the  far-famed  White  Sulphur  Spring,  of 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  89 

Virginia.  "  At  the  head  of  the  ladder,  you  find 
yourself  surrounded  by  overhanging  stalactites, 
in  the  form  of  rich  clusters  of  grapes,  hard  as 
flint,  and  round  and  polished,  as  if  done  by  a 
sculptor's  hand.  This  is  called  Mary's  Vine- 
yard— the  commencement  of  Cleveland's  Ave- 
nue, the  crowning  wonder  and  glory  of  this  sub- 
terranean world.  Proceeding  to  the  right  about, 
a  hundred  feet  from  this  spot,  over  a  rough  and 
rather  difficult  way,  you  reach ^  the  base  of  the 
height  or  hill,  on  which,  stands  the  Holy  Sepul- 
chre. This  interesting  spot  is  reached  at  some 
hazard,  as  the  ascent,  which  is  very  steep,  and 
more  than  twenty  feet  high,  affords  no  secure 
footing,  owing  to  the  loose  and  shingly  charac- 
ter of  the  surface,  until  the  height  is  gained. 
Having  achieved  this,  you  stand  immediately  at 
the  beautiful  door-way  of  the  Chapel,  or  ante- 
room of  the  Sepulchre.  This  Chapel,  which  is, 
perhaps,  twelve  feet  square,  with  a  low  ceiling, 
and  decorated  in  the  most  gorgeous  manner,  with 
well-arranged  draperies  of  stalactite  of  every 
imaginable  shape,  leads  you  to  the  room  of 
the  Holy  Sepulchre  adjoining,  which  is  without 
ornament  or  decoration  of  any  kind ;  exhibiting 


90  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

nothing  but  dark  and  bare  walls — like  a  charnel 
house.  In  the  centre  of  this  room,  which  stands 
a  few  feet  below  the  Chapel,  is,  to  all  appearance, 
a  grave,  hewn  out  of  the  living  rock.  This  is 
the  Holy  Sepulchre.  A  Roman  Catholic  priest 
discovered  it  about  three  years  ago,  and  with 
fervent  enthusiasm  exclaimed,  "  The  Holy  Sepul- 
chre !"  a  name  which  it  has  since  borne.  Re- 
turning from  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  we  commence 
our  wanderings  through  Cleveland's  Avenue — an 
avenue  three  miles  long,  seventy  feet  wide,  and 
twelve  or  fifteen  feet  high — an  avenue  more  rich 
and  gorgeous  than  any  ever  revealed  to  man — 
an  avenue  abounding  in  formations  such  as  are 
no  where  else  to  be  seen,  and  which  the  most 
stupid  observer  could  not  behold  without  feelings 
of  wonder  and  admiration.  Some  of  the  forma- 
tions in  the  avenue,  have  been  denominated  by 
Professor  Locke,  oulophiUtes,  or  curled  leafed 
stone ;  and  in  remarking  upon  them,  he  says, 
"  They  are  unlike  any  thing  yet  discovered ; 
equally  beautiful  for  the  cabinet  of  the  amateur, 
and  interesting  to  the  geological  philosopher." 
And  I,  although  a  w^anderer  myself  in  various 
climes,  and  somewhat  of  a  mineralogist  withal, 


iMAMMOTH    CAVE.  91 

have  never  seen  or  heard  of  such.  Apprehen- 
sive that  I  might,  in  attempting  to  describe  much 
that  I  have  seen,  color  too  highly,  I  will,  in  lieu 
thereof,  offer  the  remarks  of  an  intelhgent  cler- 
gyman, extracted  from  the  New  York  Christian 
Observer,  of  a  recent  date  :  "  The  most  imagi- 
native poet  never  conceived  or  painted  a  palace 
of  such  exquisite  beauty  and  loveliness,  as  Cleve- 
land's Cabinet,  into  which  you  now  pass.  Were 
the  wealth  of  princes  bestowed  on  the  most 
skilful  lapidaries,  with  the  view  of  rivaling  the 
splendors  of  this  single  chamber,  the  attempt 
would  be  vain.  How  then  can  I  hope  to  give 
you  a  conception  of  it  ?  You  must  see  it ;  -and 
you  will  then  feel  that  all  attempt  at  description, 
is  futile.  The  Cabinet  was  discovered  by  Mr. 
Patten,  of  Louisville,  and  Mr.  Craig,  of  Phila- 
delphia, accompanied  by  the  guide  Stephen,  and 
extends  in  nearly  a  direct  line  about  one  and  a 
half  miles,  (the  guides  say  two  miles.)  It  is  a 
perfect  arch,  of  fifty  feet  span,  and  of  an  average 
height  of  ten  feet  in  the  centre- — just  high 
enough  to  be  viewed  with  ease  in  all  its  parts. 
It  is  incrusted  from  end  to  end  with  the  most 
beautiful  formations,  in  every  variety  of  form. 


92  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

The  base  of  the  whole,  is  carbonate  (sulphate) 
of  Hme,  ill  part  of  dazzHng  whiteness,  and  per- 
fectly smooth,  and  in  other  places  crystallized  so 
as  to  glitter  like  diamonds  in  the  light.  Grow- 
ing from  this,  in  endlessly  diversified  forms,  is  a 
substance  resembling  selenite,  translucent  and 
imperfectly  laminated.  It  is  most  probably  sul- 
phate of  lime,  (a  gypsum,)  combined  with  sul- 
phate of  magnesia.  Some  of  the  crystals  bear 
a  striking  resemblance  to  branches  of  celery,  and 
all  about  the  same  length ;  while  others,  a  foot 
or  more  in  length,  have  the  color  and  appear- 
ance of  vanilla  cream  candy ;  others  are  set  in 
sulphate  of  lime,  in  the  form  of  a  rose ;  and  oth- 
ers still  roll  out  from  the  base,  in  forms  resem- 
bhng  the  ornaments  on  the  capitol  of  a  Corin- 
thian column.  (You  see  how  I  am  driven  for 
analogies.)  Some  of  the  incrustations  are  mas- 
sive and  splendid ;  others  are  as  delicate  as  the 
Hly,  or  as  fancy-work  of  shell  or  wax.  Think 
of  traversing  an  arched  way  like  this  for  a  mile 
and  a  half,  and  all  the  wonders  of  the  tales  of 
youth — "Arabian  Nights,"  and  all — seem  tame, 
compared  with  the  living,  growing  reahty.  Yes, 
growing  reality ;  for  the  process  is  going  on  be- 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  93 

fore  your  eyes.  Successive  coats  of  these  in- 
crustations, have  been  perfected  and  crowded 
off  by  others ;  so  that  hundreds  of  tons  of  these 
gems  he  at  your  feet,  and  are  crushed  as  you 
pass,  while  the  work  of  restoring  the  ornaments 
for  nature's  hoitdoir,  is  proceeding  around  you. 
Here  and  there,  through  the  whole  extent,  you 
will  find  openings  in  the  sides,  into  which  you 
may  thrust  the  person,  and  often  stand  erect  in 
little  grottoes,  perfectly  incrusted  w  itli  a  delicate 
white  substance,  reflecting  the  liglrt  from  a  thou- 
sand glittering  points.  All  the  way  you  might 
have  heard  us  exclaiming,  "  Wonderful,  wonder- 
ful! O,  Lord,  how  manifold  are  thy  works  ! " 
With  general  unity  of  form  and  appearance, 
there  is  considerable  variety  in  "  the  Cabinet." 
The  "  Sfiow-ball  Roovi"  for  example,  is  a  sec- 
tion of  the  cave  described  above,  some  200  feet 
in  length,  entirely  different  from  the  adjacent 
parts ;  its  appearance  being  aptly  indicated  by 
its  name.  If  a  hundred  rude  school  boys  had 
but  an  hour  before  completed  their  day's  sport, 
by  throwing  a  thousand  snow-balls  against  the 
roof,  while  an  equal  number  were  scattered 
about  the  floor,  and  all  petrified,  it  would  have 


94  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

presented  precisely  such  a  scene  as  you  witness 
in  this  room  of  nature's  froHcs.  So  far  as  I  know, 
these  "  snow-bails  are  a  perfect  anomaly  among 
ail  the  strange  forms  of  crystalization.  It  is  the 
result,  I  presume,  of  an  unusual  combination  of 
the  sulphates  of  lime  and  magnesia,  with  a  car- 
bonate of  the  former.  We  found  here- and  else- 
where in  the  Cabinet,  fine  specimens  of  the  sul- 
phate of  Magnesia,  (or  Epsom  salts,)  a  foot  or 
two  long,  and  three  inches  in  thickness. 

Leaving  the  quiet  and  beautiful  "Cabinet,"  you 
come  suddenly  upon  the  "  Rocky  Mountains," 
furnishing  a  contrast  so  bold  and  striking,  as  al- 
most to  startle  you.  Clambering  up  the  rough 
side  some  thirty  feet,  you  pass  close  under  the 
roof  of  the  cavern  you  have  left,  and  find  before 
you  an  immense  transvei-se  cave,  100  feet  or 
more  from  the  ceiling  to  the  floor,  with  a  huge 
pile  of  rocks  half  filling  the  hither  side — they 
were  probably  dashed  from  the  roof  in  the  great 
earthquake  of  1811.  Taking  the  left  hand 
branch,  you  are  soon  brought  to  "  Croglian's 
Hall,"  which  is  nine  miles  from  the  mouth,  and 
is  the  farthest  point  explored  in  that  direction. 
The  "  Hall"   is  50  or  60  feet  in  diameter,  and> 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  96 

perhaps,  thirty-five  feet  high,  of  a  semi-circular 
form.  Fronting  you  as  you  enter,  are  massive 
stalactites,  ten  or  fifteen  feet  in  length,  attached  to 
the  rock,  like  sheets  of  ice,  and  of  a  brilliant  color. 
The  rock  projects  near  the  floor,  and  then  re- 
cedes with  a  regular  and  graceful  curve,  or  swell, 
leaving  a  cavity  of  several  feet  in  width  between 
it  and  the  floor.  At  intervals,  around  this  swell, 
stalactites  of  various  forms  are  suspended,  and 
behind  the  sheet  of  stalactites  first  described, 
are  numerous  stalagmites,  in  fanciful  forms,  1 
brought  one  away  that  resembles  the  horns 
of  the  deer,  being  nearly  translucent.  In  the 
centre  of  this  hall,  a  very  large  stalactite  hangs 
from  the  roof;  and  a  corresponding  stalagmite 
rises  from  the  floor,  about  three  feet  in  height 
and  a  foot  in  diameter,  of  an  amber  color,  per- 
fectly smooth  and  translucent,  like  the  other  for- 
mations. On  the  right,  is  a  deep  pit,  down 
which  the  water  dashes  from  a  cascade  that 
pours  from  the  roof  Other  avenues  could  most 
likely  be  found  by  sounding  the  sides  of  the  pit, 
if  any  one  had  the  courage  to  attempt  the  de- 
scent. We  are  far  enough  from  tei'va  supra, 
and  our  dinner  which  we  had  left  at  the  "  Vine- 


96  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

yard."  We  hastened  back  to  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, and  took  the  branch  which  we  left  at  our 
right  on  emerging  from  the  Cabinet  .Pursuing 
the  uneven  path  for  some  distance,  we  reached 
"  Serena's  Arbor,"  which  was  discovered  but 
three  months  since,  by  our  guide  "  Mat."  The 
descent  to  the  Arbor  seemed  so  perilous,  from 
the  position  of  the  loose  rocks  around,  that  seve- 
ral of  the  party  would  not  venture.  Those  of 
us  who  scrambled  down  regarded  this  as  the 
crowning  object  of  interest.  The  "Arbor"  is 
not  more  than  twelve  feet  in  diameter,  and  of 
about  the  same  height,  of  a  circular  form  ;  but 
is,  of  itself,  floor,  sides,  roofj  and  ornaments, 
one  perfect,  seamless  stalactite,  of  a  beautiful  hue, 
and  exquisite  workmanship.  Folds  or  blades 
of  stalactitic  matter  hang  like  drapery  around 
the  sides,  reaching  half  way  to  the  floor ;  and 
opposite  the  door,  a  canopy  of  stone  projects, 
elegantly  ornamented,  as  if  it  were  the  resting- 
place  of  a  fairy  bride.  Every  thing  seemed  fresh 
and  new  ;  indeed,  the  invisible  architect  has  not 
quite  finished  this  master-piece  ;  for  you  can  see 
the  pure  water,  trickling  down  its  tiny  channels 
and  perfecting  the  delicate  points  of  some  of  the 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  97 

Stalactites.  Victoria,  with  all  her  splendor,  has 
not  ill  Windsor  Castle,  so  beautiful  an  apart- 
ment as  "  Serena's  Arbor." 

Such  is  the  description  of  Cleveland's  Avenue, 
as  given  by  this  clerical  gentleman.  It  is  per- 
fectly graphic,  and  corresponds  with  all  the  glow- 
ing accounts  I  have  read  of  this  famous  place. 
Exquisitely  beautiful  and  rare  as  are  the  forma- 
tions in  this  avenue,  it  will  soon  be,  I  fear,  like 
the  Grotto  of  Pensico  —  shorn  of  its  beauties. 
Many  a  little  Miss,  to  decorate  her  centre  table 
or  boudoir,  and  many  a  thoughtless  dandy  to 
present  a  specimen  to  his  lady  fair,  have  broken 
from  the  walls  (regardless  of  the  pubhshed  rules 
prohibiting  it,)  those  lovely  productions  of  the 
Almighty,  which  required  ages  to  perfect ;  thus 
destroying  in  a  moment  the  work  of  centuries. 
These  beautiful  and  gorgeous  formations  were 
encrusted  on  the  walls  by  the  hands  of  our 
Maker,  and  who  so  impious  as  to  desecrate 
them — to  tear  them  from  their  place?  there 
they  are,  all  lovely  and  beautiful,  and  there  they 
ought  to  remain,  untouched  by  the  hands  of  man, 
for  the  admiration  and  wonder  of  all  future  ages. 
ff  the  comparatively  small    ca^e   of  Adelburg 


98  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

which  belongs  to  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  be 
placed  for  the  preservation  of  its  formations 
under  the  protecting  care  of  the  goverment  (as  is 
the  case,)  what  ought  not  to  be  done  to  preserve 
the  mineralogical  treasures,  in  this  great  Cave 
of  America,  and  especially  in  Cleveland's  Cabi- 
net, which  are  worth  more  than  all  the  caves  in 
Europe,  indeed  of  the  world,  so  far  as  our  know- 
ledge of  caverns  extends. 

Returning  from  Serena's  Arbor,  we  passed 
on  our  left  the  mouth  of  an  avenue  rftore  than 
three  miles  long,  lofty  and  wide,  and  at  its  ter- 
mination there  is  a  hail,  which  in  the  opinion  of 
the  guide  is  larger  than  any  other  in  the  Cave. 
It  is  as  yet  without  a  name.  Equidistant  from 
the  commencement  and  the  termination  of  Cleve- 
land's Avenue,  is  a  huge  rock,  nearly  circular, 
flat  on  the  top  and  three  feet  high.  This  is  the 
"  dining  table. "  J\Iore  than  one  hundred  persons 
could  be  seated  around  this  table ;  on  it  the 
guide  arranged  our  dinner,  and  we  luxuriated  on 
"flesh  and  fowl"  and  " choice  old  sherry."  Never 
did  a  set  of  fellows  enjoy  dinner  more  than  we 
did  ours.     Our  friend  B.  was  perfectly   at  his 


MAMiMOTH    CAVE.  99 

ease  and  happy ;  and,  in  the  exuberance  of  his 
spirits,  proposed  the  following  toast: 

"Prosperity  to  the  subterranean  teiTitory  of  Cimmeria;  large  enough,  if 
not  populous  enough,  for  admission  into  the  Union  as  an  independent 
State." 

We  emptied  our  glasses  and  gave  nine  hearty 
cheers  in  honor  of  the  sentiment.  A  proposi- 
tion was  made  to  adjourn,  but  B.  was  not  in 
clined  to  locomotion,  and  opposed  it  with  great 
warmth,  insisting  that  it  was  too  soon  to 
move  after  such  a  dinner,  and  that  a  state  of 
rest  was  absolutely  essential  to  healthy  digestion. 
We  had  much  argument  on  the  motion  to  ad- 
journ ;  when  our  sagacious  guide  Stephen,  with 
a  meaning  look  interposed,  saying  "we  had  as 
well  be  going,  for  the  river  might  take  a  rise  and 
shut  us  up  here."  "  What ! "  exclaimed  B.  in  utter 
consternation,  and  with  a  start,  literally  bouncing 
from  his  seat,  cried  aloud  "Let's  be  off!"  at  the 
same  time  suiting  the  action  to  the  word.  In  a 
second  we  were  all  in  motion,  and  hurrying  past 
beautiful  incrustations,  throuQjh  galleries  long 
and  tortuous,  down  one  hill  and  up  another, 
(poor  B.  puffing  and  blowing,  and  all  the  while 
exclaiming  against  the  ten-ible  length  and  rug- 


100  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

gedness  of  the  way,)  we  at  last  reached  the  Echo, 
which  we  found  to  our  great  rehef  had  not  risen. 
It  seems,  the  guide  had  used  this  stratagem  for  our 
own  advantage,  to  break  off  our  banquet,  lest 
it  trenched  too  far  upon  the  night.  We  were 
too  happy  in  having  our  fears  relieved,  to  fall 
out  with  him.  On  our  homeward  bound  pas- 
sage over  the  rivers,  our  admiration  was  rather 
increased  than  diminished.  The  death-like 
stillness !  the  awful  silence !  the  wild  grandeur 
and  sublimity  of  the  scene,  tranquilizing  the 
feeling  and  disposing  to  pensive  musings  and 
quiet  contemplation ;  on  a  sudden  a  pistol  is 
fired  —  a  tremendous  report  ensues  —  its  echoes 
are  heard  reverberating  from  wall  to  wall,  in 
caves  far  away,  like  the  low  murmuring  sound 
of  distant  thunder — the  spell  of  silence  and  deep 
reverie  is  broken — we  become  roused  and  ani- 
mated, and  the  mighty  cavern  resounds  with 
our  song.  We  believe  every  one  will,  under 
similar  circumstances,  experience  this  sudden 
transition  from  pensive  musings  to  joyous  hilarity. 
Leaving  the  rivers,  we  hastened  onward  to  the 
outlet  to  the  upper  world.  Far  ahead  we  per- 
ceive the  first  dawnings  of  day,  shining  with 


MAMMOTH    CAVE.  101 

a  silvery  pallid  hue  on  the  walls,  and  increasing 
in  brightness  as  we  advance,  until  it  bursts  forth 
in  all  the  golden  rays  and  glorious  effulgence  of 
the  setting  sun.  This  parting  scene  is  lovely 
and  interesting.  We  bid  adieu  to  the  "Great 
Monarch  of  Caves."  We  here  terminate  our 
subterranean  tour.  Standing  on  the  grassy  ter- 
race above,  we  inhale  the  cool,  pure  air,  and 
take  a  last  look  at  the  "great  Wonder  of  Won- 
ders!" To  all  we  would  say  "go  and  see  — 
explore  the  greatest  of  the  Almighty's  subterra- 
nean works."  No  description  can  give  you  an 
idea  of  it — neither  can  inspection  of  other  caves ; 
it  is  "the  Monarch  of  Caves!  none  that  have 
ever  been  measured  can  at  all  compare  with  it, 
in  extent,  in  grandeur,  in  wild,  solemn,  serene, 
unadorned  majesty ;  it  stands  entirely  alone.' — = 
"  It  has  no  brother ;  it  has  no  brother." 


This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last 
date  stamped  below 

University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

305  De  Neve  Drive  -  Parking  Lot  17  •  Box  951388 

LOS  ANGELES,  CALIFORNIA  90095-1388 

Return  this  material  to  the  library  from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


THE  LIBRARY 
UNTVERS..  V  C:'  •:        "T'ORNIA 

LOS  ANGL^iu:> 


University  Of  California,  Los  Angeles 


L  007  408  120  9 


F457 
M2C8 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


AA    001  029  258    9 


';ii§:t'i';in:v!;4:v:i::8|S^ 


Uni 


